Ben Foster: PEDs I took to play Lance Armstrong 'definitely damaged' my body

Foster, 34, opened up to The Hollywood Reporter regarding his use of PEDs in preparation for the role and what it did to his health. He indicated that the drugs, all legal, "definitely damaged" his body despite the fact that he took them under doctor supervision and in a contained atmosphere.

“Go faster, go longer, go stronger. That’s why you take them. And they took drugs because they work. But they also can damage the body very long-term and in very serious ways,” Foster told the site. “I had a great doctor, which helped me handle some of those consequences. But it took about half a year to get my levels right, and I would say for any athlete, you have to ask, ‘Where are your values?"

Armstrong's use of performance enhancing drugs will play a central role in the movie, which will premiere in the United Kingdom this upcoming Friday with a scheduled release in the United States next year.

Armstrong, once considered one of the greatest athletes of our time, earned seven consecutive Tour de France titles from 1999-2005. Though, a well-known doping scandal ruined Armstrong's reputation in the cycling world — eventually leading to him being stripped of all those titles.

Despite denials from Armstrong, a United States Anti-Doping Agency investigation came to the conclusion that he not only used performance enhancing drugs, he was allegedly the ringleader in what was defined as a widespread doping program in the sport.

There is no evidence to support that Armstrong's use of performance enhancing drugs played a role in the testicular cancer he was diagnosed with in 1996 at the young age of 25. Even after Armstrong's admission of doping back in 2013, there's nothing that points to it causing cancer. Though, performance enhancing drugs themselves are said to be linked to various forms of tumors and cancers.

As it relates to Foster's use of PEDs, it should be a wake-up call to those young men and women who continue to look to get an edge in amateur sports. Just this week, University of Florida quarterback Will Grier was suspended for an entire year after testing positive for PEDs he indicated were purchased over the counter.

It's definitely a scary trend in today's sports world. And in reality, education regarding the impact of PED use should become a central focus for those who are seen as important figures in the lives of these young individuals.

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