Michael Tyler, the star of one of the best television sitcoms of all time – “Friends” – has recently revealed that he is undergoing chemotherapy treatment for prostate cancer.
The 59-year-old American actor who played Gunther in the series revealed the news on the Today show where he explained that he was first diagnosed at 56, and has “been dealing with that diagnosis for almost the past three years.”
“I was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, which had spread to my bones,” Tyler told co-host Craig Melvin. “It’s stage 4, late-stage cancer, so eventually, it’s gonna probably get me.”
Gunther was Jennifer Aniston’s (Rachel) one-time boss and the manager of the Central Perk coffee house, in all 10 seasons of the NBC sitcom. Aside from “Friends”, he also appeared as a guest in “Episodes”, “Sabrina the Teenage Witch”, “Scrubs”, and “Just Shoot Me!”
Tyler’s prostate cancer was initially detected in September 2018 during a routine physical through a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. While he was initially treated through hormone therapy, which he said “worked amazingly for the first year,” the cancer mutated and spread to his spine during the pandemic, eventually leading to paraplegia.
Tyler said that his diagnosis and ongoing treatment hasn’t been “an easy process,” and that he doesn’t “want people to have to go through what I’ve been going through.”
“My goal this past year was to see my 59th birthday,” the actor said. “I did that. My goal now is to help at least save one life.”
*Cover Image Credits: NBC Getty/Paul Zimmerman/Stringer
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