Ryan Reynolds is raising awareness by letting a private moment be documented on camera.
The 45-year-old actor just underwent his first colonoscopy, and he allowed a camera crew to be with him in the medical recovery room to document first-hand what happened while he went through the very important preventative procedure.
In a video uploaded to YouTube, Ryan explained that he lost a bet to his soccer club owner Rob McElhenney and because of this, he had to get his colonoscopy done with cameras involved.
After the procedure, Ryan declared:
“It’s a simple step that could literally, and I mean literally, save your life.”
Colon cancer is said to be the second biggest cancer killer in America, with 1 in 24 Americans getting the disease. Colon cancer can be preventable with colonoscopies, and the recommended age is 45 years old.
While Ryan was in the recovery room, the doctor explained that he found an “extremely subtle polyp” and stated:
“This was potentially life-saving for you — I’m not kidding, I’m not being overly dramatic.
This is exactly why you do this. You had no symptoms.”
The doctor said about the polyp:
“You are interrupting the natural history of a disease of something of a process that could have ended up developing into cancer and causing all sorts of problems.”
The doctor made it clear that colonoscopies can save lives.
Rob’s colonoscopy was likewise filmed, and his doctor found three polyps.
The YouTube video was made in partnership with colon-cancer-awreness organization Lead from behind and the Colorectal Cancer Alliance.
