Will Smith had a pre-cancerous polyp removed during a colonoscopy appointment.
The 51-year-old actor underwent the medical check-up – which involves a camera being inserted into your bowels and can detect early signs of cancer and other conditions – after his physician, Dr. Ala Stanford, advised him to have the screening now he is in his 50s.
Will shared a video of his medical procedure titled ‘I Vlogged My Colonoscopy’ on his YouTube channel so his fans could see the procedure is not as bad, or as embarrassing, as they may fear.
He said: "It’s 2019, it’s time to get your health right.
"There’s a certain amount of commitment and embarrassment involved with being healthy. You just gotta do it, man."
Following the examination, Will was told by his doctor he could of faced a potentially devastating health issue after they removed a polyp – that contribute to 95 per cent of colon cancers – which showed pre-cancerous cells.
In the clip, Will’s doctor explained: "There was actually a polyp there. There was no sequela, no complications from it, no bleeding, no hole, no perforation like that … had you not known, it continues to grow and grow and African-American men, in particular, the right colon is where cancer is high. Yours was on a side that was more advanced. You would have had fewer typical symptoms and by the time you present it, it could be full-blown and spread throughout your body."
Will – who has three children, 26-year-old Trey, his son with first wife Sheree Zampino, as well as Jaden, 21, and Willow, 19, with wife Jada Pinkett Smith – will now have to have a screening every two to three years to ensure everything is healthy.
A shocked Will was thankful for his doctor who pushed him to have the procedure as he didn’t expect
He said: "When I decided I wanted to shoot this as a vlog, it was a much more, ‘Hey, this will be cool, this will be fun’. I didn’t realise there would be a pre-cancerous polyp that would get found out of it … it’s important to me to share this with people so other people can become compliant patients to stay healthy and happy to have all the glorious years we could possibly have."
Will Smith has precancerous polyp removed during colonoscopy
