Actor Will Smith’s hilarious video-log of his first-ever colonoscopy, which has caught a lot of people’s attention, touched on two important issues: the need for men to get the test, and African American men are at higher risk for colon cancer.
“We know that screening and early detection saves lives … but people are like, ‘I don’t want anything up [my anus] and they don’t do it,'” Smith’s doctor, Dr. Ala Stanford, tells him in the video. “African American men in particular, the right colon is where cancers hide.”
Read MoreSmith’s New Health Obsession
The colonoscopy comes on the heels of what the actor told Red Table Talk was a substantial weight gain and subsequent focus on healthy living. Other Smith family members have had their own eating issues, he said, leading to what he called a "Smith family health intervention.”
He added: "I feel first and foremost that food is medicine, and that people can live healthier lives if they understand what we're putting into our bodies.”
Information About Black Men and Colonoscopies
Black men are at higher risk for colon cancer than the general population, according to the American Cancer Society.
Until recently, screening guidelines noted that all men should get colonoscopies starting at age 50, and then every 10 years, and that black men should get them beginning at age 45. But new guidelines suggest everyone should get screened beginning at age 45, Dr. Heather Yeo, a colorectal surgeon at Weill Cornell Medical Center, tells SurvivorNet. Guidelines also recommend that those with a close family member who has had or has colon cancer should begin to screen approximately 10 years earlier.
One of the major problems in cancer care is that people don't get screened early enough, even when they know they should. Dr. Zuri Murrell, colorectal surgeon at Cedars-Sinai on the importance of screening for colorectal cancer, told SurvivorNet that African American men especially don't get the colorectal cancer screening they need for cultural reasons. Often, without the right support and advocacy effort, men are embarrassed to have their buttocks inspected, even if it could save their lives.
Dr. Zuri Murrell, a colorectal surgeon at Cedars-Sinai on the importance of screening for colorectal cancer
"You shouldn't die from embarrassment," is the message from Dr. Zuri Murrell, a colorectal surgeon at Cedars-Sinai.
There are many doctors, including Dr. Murrell, who believe it's necessary to rattle the cages to make people aware of the critical importance of screening, especially among some population groups who are at higher risk for the disease.
Will Smith’s Colonoscopy Video
Smith introduces the video with his Dr. Stanford saying, “I’m gonna have a medical procedure tomorrow.” Then, leaning in to the camera, he whispers, “I’m gonna have a colonoscopy.”
“I’m 50 so people need to look up my stuff,” he continued as his doctor nods in agreement.
In the video, Smith, who is now 51, walks through the process of preparing for his colonoscopy, writing in the video’s text, “For the past 24 hours, my diet has consisted of clear liquids and over-the-counter laxatives.” He explains the effect of the liquids, and the way his bowels became clearer and clearer as his doctor’s appointment approached.
“This is my gown,” he continues. “It opens in the back so my **** is gonna be out … so they can get to it easy,” he says.
After the procedure, another doctor tells him that while his preparation wasn’t totally perfect, everything went well. “He’s like the Martin Scorscese of my ass,” Smith says about his doctor and the procedure, which requires a camera to search for colon cancer polyps.
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