In a time where social media rules and celebrities broadcast their lives in real-time, actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney posted something of importance: Their colonoscopies, to shed light on the ease of colorectal cancer screenings.
As colon cancer rates rise in young adults, new research has identified four early symptoms that may prove important in detecting and diagnosing early-onset cases of colorectal cancer.
Although the video was posted last fall, it bears repeating as a reminder for folks 45 years and older to undergo the cancer screening, which could potentially save lives.
The procedure is used to check for abnormalities in the colon, such as swelling, irritation or tumors, and is the main preventive measure to screen for colorectal cancer — the third-most-common cancer diagnosed in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society, which recommends that most people be screened every 10 years starting at age 45.
Reynolds, 45, who is married to actress Blake Lively, is co-owner of a Welsh soccer club with McElhenney.
The video came to fruition as a result of a bet: If McElhenney, who created and stars in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” could learn to speak Welsh, Reynolds would publicly broadcast his colonoscopy. Reynolds lost the wager and the “Deadpool” star underwent the medical procedure on camera.
“I’ve been on camera a lot,” Reynolds said in his colonoscopy video released Tuesday, although this was the first time the camera had been focused not on his face. Check out the video on YouTube.
According to Reynolds, recording his colonoscopy was “about something that will most definitely save lives,” Reynolds said in the clip, which was made in partnership with the Colorectal Cancer Alliance and Lead From Behind, a colon cancer awareness organization.
“The procedure itself doesn’t take long. We’re talking about 30 minutes, something like that,” a doctor told the actor as he was wheeled into the procedure room. “It’s stunningly effective.”
During a colonoscopy, a physician inserts a flexible tube through the rectum and into the colon to view the organ’s interior with a tiny camera. Patients are sedated for the procedure.
In Reynolds’ case, the doctor found an “extremely subtle polyp,” or clump of cells, on the right side of his colon. The doctor removed it, “interrupting the natural history … of a process that could have ended up developing into cancer and causing all sorts of problems.”
“That’s why people need to do this,” the physician added. “They really need to do this. This saves lives. Pure and simple.”
Even though Reynolds lost the bet, McElhenney, who is also 45, agreed to undergo a colonoscopy as well. His doctor removed three polyps.
“Getting it on time is the key,” McElhenney’s physician said, adding that colon cancer is a “100 percent preventable disease” if people have the recommended colonoscopies.
Both Reynolds and McElhenney attested to how relatively easy the procedures are.
“Well, that didn’t seem so bad,” Reynolds shrugged as the clip ended.
Source: silive.com
