Ryan Reynolds finds polyp during colonoscopy, but what is it?

It was rather heart breaking to learn that Ryan Reynolds went in for a colonoscopy for fun, and came out of it learning about a polyp, as per a report by USA Today.

His doctor believes that the test he underwent jokingly could have saved his life.

The chance encounter

Doctor Jonathan LaPook said this in a video that Reynolds shared:

'This was potentially life-saving for you. I'm not kidding. I'm not being overly dramatic.’

Reynolds went in for the colonoscopy procedure after he lost a bet to his actor friend, Rob McElhenney, as he thought Rob couldn't speak Welsh fluently.

After McElhenney won the bet, the two friends made a montage of their colonoscopies and the subsequent anaesthesia-induced recoveries.

This video, and the bet, was used as an opportunity to bring attention to colorectal cancer screenings. The video was shot in partnership with the organization Colorectal Cancer Alliance and Lead From Behind.

The doctor, who’s a gastroenterologist with NYU Langone’s Colon Cancer Screening and Prevention Program, told Reynolds colonoscopies can be ‘stunningly effective’.

LaPook also discovered an ‘extremely subtle polyp’ on the right side of the actor’s colon, as reportd by Fox29. The removal could have led to dangerous consequences:

‘(It could be) a process that could have ended up developing it to cancer and causing all sorts of problems.’

Ryan Reynolds said in the video:

‘Rob and I turned 45 this year. Part of being this age is getting a colonoscopy. It's a simple step that could literally – and I mean literally – save your life.’

What is a polyp?

According to American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), a polyp is a benign growth (noncancerous tumours or neoplasms) involving the lining of the bowel.

They can come up in various locations in the gastrointestinal tract but are most common in the colon.

They vary in size from less than a quarter of an inch to several inches in diameter, according to the organization's online report. A polyp can look like a bump growing from the inside of the bowel ‘protruding out’.

According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is the third-most common cancer diagnosed in the States and the lifetime risk of developing the same is about 1 in 23 for men and 1 in 25 for women.

It is worth noting that Black Panther actor Chad Boseman had died of colon cancer at the age of 43 in 2020, thereby raising awareness of colonoscopies.

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