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The actor, who turned 51 on Sept. 25, released an 18-minute YouTube vlog Wednesday chronicling his experience getting his first-ever colonoscopy in August.
It was a revealing procedure for both viewers and the actor: It turns out he had a precancerous polyp, or abnormal tissue growth, that was removed and, if left undetected, could have continued “to grow and grow and grow,” according to his physician, Dr. Ala Stanford.
The “Gemini Man” actor’s posterior exposé, titled “I Get My First Colonoscopy,” traces his steps from a 5:30 a.m. car ride to Lennar Foundation Medical Center at the University of Miami through his post-procedure recovery and test results several days later. He posted the video with a link to the National Cancer Institute to raise awareness about the importance of cancer screening.
“2019, gotta get our health right,” he says. “There’s a certain amount of commitment and embarrassment involved with being healthy,” he tells the camera at one point. “Just gotta do it, man. Gotta do it. What’s the option?”
Of course, funnyman Smith takes a light tone at times. During an audio problem, he turns part of the video into a black-and-white silent film with ragtime piano music and helpful subtitles such as “Colon is your large intestine . . . and ‘Oscopy’ means ‘to look.’ ”
In the segment, which takes place during a meeting with Stanford before the procedure, the word “Tragedy” flashes on the screen as he raises a pertinent question: “How far in does it go?” — to which Stanford stretches her arms wide.
“I’m scared . . .” he says. As Stanford responds, “You should be!” a giant “LOL” spans the screen.
But Smith has a relaxed demeanor throughout the shoot, at one time shaking his head and whispering, “My ass gonna be out,” as he shows his exposed, blurred backside. He even cracks jokes about pre-procedure preparation, which includes a strong laxative solution the day before — which at midnight, he says, “kicked in.”
“Twelve o’clock was a murder scene,” he jokes. “‘CSI: Miami’ would have had to come check.”
After meeting a different doctor who would perform the colonoscopy, Smith flashed a peace sign at the camera before being wheeled into the endoscopy suite.
Don’t worry: The “Men in Black” star doesn’t show the actual invasive procedure; the camera instead cuts to the recovery room, where Smith is groggy but all smiles, cracking jokes and requesting Belvedere or Cîroc vodka instead of ice water.
“He’s like the Martin Scorsese of my ass,” Smith then says of the doctor before he changes back into street clothes. (Fun fact: Smith wears black Calvin Klein briefs!)
Several days later, he gets the results in a video call with Dr. Stanford, who reveals the existence of the polyp in his cecum, the largest part of the colon. It was removed, sent to a lab and determined to be precancerous tissue.
“Ninety-five percent of colon cancers arise from that type of polyp,” she says before thanking him for being a “compliant” patient and following her advice to get a colonoscopy, advising him he’ll need another in two to three years.
“It’s important to me to be able to share this with people so, you know, other people can become compliant patients to stay healthy and happy to have all the glorious years we can possibly have,” Smith tells Dr. Stanford.
Then he blows her a thankful kiss, ends the call, exhales and says, “OK. We’re good.”
