James Michael Tyler, Gunther in 'Friends', has prostate cancer

James Michael Tyler is undergoing chemotherapy to combat the cancer, and is urging men to get early screenings in order to battle it through an early diagnosis. Photo: Handout

James Michael Tyler, who portrayed Central Perk employee Gunther on Friends, has revealed his stage 4 prostate cancer diagnosis. He shared the news on Today on Monday (June 21) morning.

"I was 56 years old at the time, and they screen for PSA, which is prostate-specific antigen," Tyler said. "That came back at an extraordinarily high number. So I knew immediately when I went online and I saw the results of my blood test and blood work that there was obviously something quite wrong there. Nearly immediately, my doctor called me and said, 'Hey, I need you to come in tomorrow because I suspect that you may have quite a serious problem with your prostate'."