Ryan Reynolds Reveals He Had Polyps Removed Following ‘Potentially Life-Saving’ Colonoscopy

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are raising awareness for colon cancer in a way that might have saved one of the actor’s life. The Free Guy star and Always Sunny in Philadelphia actor and writer let cameras follow them through their experience undergoing preventative colonoscopies in a partnership with colon-cancer-awareness organization Lead from Behind.

As both Reynolds and McElhenney turned 45 this year, the actors said it was time for them to get a colonoscopy as they urged others to do the same. “It’s a simple step that could literally, and I mean literally, save your life,” Reynolds said in the video, which followed the two through their quick and “stunningly effective” tests.

The doctor revealed after Reynolds’ colonoscopy that they had found an “extremely subtle polyp” in the Deadpool star’s colon, which is something that can cause colon cancer down the line. “This was potentially life-saving for you – I’m not kidding, I’m not being overly dramatic,” the doctor explained to Reynolds. “This is exactly why you do this. You had no symptoms.” He continued that by removing the polyp, “You are interrupting the natural history of a disease of something of a process that could have ended up developing into cancer and causing all sorts of problems.”

The Mythic Quest star was next up, and McElhenney made sure to give his friend a run for his money. “I figure I can’t go wrong in terms of comparing myself to Ryan,” he joked. “They either find nothing and that means my colon was cleaner than his, or they find a polyp and it’s either bigger than his, which is awesome, or it’s smaller than his, which means I had less of an opportunity to have cancer – either way, I win.” After his procedure, the doctor revealed he found only three polyps that “were not a big deal, but certainly a good thing that we found them early and removed them,” which prompted McElhenney to declare himself as having “won.”

“I’ve been on camera a lot. But this was the first time one was shoved up my a—,” said Reynolds of the experience in a statement. “The procedure and prep were painless but the discomfort of filming and sharing the process was the hardest part. Rob and I did it because we want this potentially life-saving procedure to be less mysterious and stigmatized.”

“Ryan and I both turned 45 this year and this is just a rite of passage,” McElhenney added, “and a great one because it can literally save your life. It’s obviously a procedure that makes people uncomfortable but it sure beats getting cancer. We wanted to have fun with this because as with all the weird things that happen in life, why not make it fun instead of scary?”