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Will Smith discovered he had precancerous polyp removed while filming colonoscopy vlog

SHANGHAI, CHINA - OCTOBER 14: Actor Will Smith attends the premiere of film 'Gemini Man'  on October 14, 2019 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
Actor Will Smith attends the premiere of film 'Gemini Man' on October 14, 2019 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

Social media-savvy Will Smith recorded himself preparing to undergo a colonoscopy and its aftermath for a vlog, and in the process discovered he had a precancerous polyp that had to be removed.

The actor underwent the procedure after turning 50 under the advice of his doctor, Ala Stanford, who revealing the news of the successful removal of the polyp to Smith in his "I Vlogged My Colonoscopy Video".

The father-of-three recorded the before and after of the colonoscopy with Dr Stanford delivering the results over video call, explaining how a type of polyp called a tubular adenoma had been discovered in his colon and taken out.

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She remarked to Smith, who had no symptoms, that it could’ve potentially become cancerous if it wasn’t found.

Dr Stanford said: "Had you not known, it continues to grow and grow and grow and in African-American men in particular, the right colon is where cancer is high because it's the biggest part.

"Yours was on a side that would've been more advanced, you would've had fewer typical symptoms and by the time you presented it could've been full blown and spread throughout your body."

The medic then told Smith that because of his results, he would need another check-up in the next two to three years instead of the typical 10 years time. She also thanked him for being a "compliant" patient.

With no complications from the successful removal, Smith reflected in his video sign-off: "We're good. That was interesting. But health is our greatest wealth - so I'm going to sit with that for a minute."

Smith took to Instagram to share the news of his video, writing that he was doing it "for the clout".

Alongside a short video clip of him preparing for surgery, Smith joked: "They said you can’t get to 50 million followers on IG without showing your butt. So here I am, gettin’ a colonoscopy for the clout ;-) link in bio for the vid."