James Michael Tyler, Gunther on 'Friends,' reveals Stage 4 prostate cancer diagnosis

image courtesy of imdb.com

As always, The International Prostate Cancer Foundation recommends that men have a chance to make an informed decision with their health care provider about whether to be screened for prostate cancer. The decision should be made after getting all the facts about the uncertainties, risks, and potential benefits of prostate cancer screening.

UPDATE: James Michael Tyler lost his battle with prostate cancer on October 24, 2021

(Excerpt from USA today. Click to read full article.)

James Michael Tyler, who played the Central Perk employee Gunther on "Friends," revealed he is undergoing chemotherapy treatment after being diagnosed with Stage 4 prostate cancer.

The actor, 59, publicly opened up about his cancer battle for the first time while appearing on the "Today" show Monday. 

"I'm sorry to say that I'm not appearing today with you to announce that there's a 'Friends' movie," Tyler said. "Actually, I'm here to let you know that in September of 2018, I was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer."

Though Tyler had hoped to attend HBO Max's "Friends" reunion last month in-person, he explained he was only able to appear virtually due to his health.

"I wanted to be a part of that, and initially I was going to be on the stage, at least, with them, and be able to take part in all the festivities," Tyler explained. "It was my decision not to be a part of that physically and make an appearance on Zoom, basically, because I didn't wanna bring a downer on it, you know? I didn't want to be like, 'Oh, and by the way, Gunther has cancer.' "