Credit: 20th CenturyDeadpool star Ryan Reynolds has reached a point in his life where not much bothers him. Reynolds has reached the pinnacle of fame with Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) becoming one of the highest-grossing films of all time, but on top of that, he owns his own soccer club, wireless service, and gin company.
It’s safe to say that it is good to be Ryan Reynolds. However, even movie stars aren’t immune to the passage of time.
In 2022, when he turned 45, Reynolds shared a video of himself getting his first colonoscopy. The video was a partnership with the Colorectal Cancer Alliance’s Lead from Behind initiative to get more men screened for cancer.
However, what appeared first just to be a publicity stunt to raise awareness about colon cancer may have saved Reynolds’ life.
Doctor Jonathan Lapook completed the procedure on Reynolds and friend Rob McElhinney. During Reynolds’ procedure, Dr Lapook removed a small growth of tissue from Reynolds’ colon that would have eventually turned cancerous.
Dr. Lapook told Reynolds that having this procedure was “potentially lifesaving” for him.
The American Cancer Society recommends that all men between the ages of 45 and 49 receive their first screening for colon cancer. However, 80 percent of men in that age group do not undergo routine screening.
Dr. John Marshall, chief medical consultant of the Colorectal Cancer Alliance and the clinical director of oncology for Georgetown University Hospital in Washington DC, told Forbes:
We have not optimized early detection as much as we need to prevent colorectal cancer.
Friendly/loving reminder: colonoscopies save lives. And you can make it fun: As they start to put you under, try pointing at the ceiling, then whisper, “Such warm light. Grand-papa? Is that you?” Then pass out. It’s a fun way to really scare the shit out of the anesthesiologist. https://t.co/aRfjw5gObh
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) September 26, 2024
Dr. Marshall also explained that it can take 10-15 years for these small groups of cells, called a polyp, to develop into cancer, which is why early detection is so important. Had Reynolds not undergone the routine screening, his polyp could have developed into cancer later in life.
Luckily for actor Ryan Reynolds, this colon screening was able to remove the polyp before it could become cancerous.
Approximately 150,000 cases of colorectal cancer are diagnosed every year in the United States. The survivability rates of colorectal cancer are significantly higher when it is caught in the early stages, with a five-year survivability rate in Stage IV at 10 percent.
So, Marvel fans, fear not. Reynolds will be back for Deadpool IV if it comes to that. All he had to do was have a camera put where the sun doesn’t shine.
For more information about colorectal cancer screenings, visit the American Cancer Society’s website.