CBS’s Harry Smith Undergoes Televised Colonoscopy

CBS Early Show anchor Harry Smith shared his colonoscopy experience live with TV viewers on March 10. CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric joined Smith during the screening, part of a nationwide push to promote colon cancer prevention.

The disease, which killed almost 50,000 people in the U.S. in 2009, is highly preventable and treatable if caught early. March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month, so it’s the ideal time to highlight the importance of getting screened. To watch a 19-minute video of Smith’s colonoscopy screening, packed with anatomy humor, click here.

Smith says the colonoscopy gave him “tremendous peace of mind,” and “upped the ante” on his health, reminding him to do a better job of taking care of himself, reports cbsnews.com.

“As for the entire experience of a colonoscopy,” Smith adds, “Nothing to it.”

A colonoscopy is a procedure in which a lighted tube, called a colonoscope, is inserted into the rectum and guided around the bends of colon. Images from the colonoscope can be seen on a television screen, which allows doctors to see any abnormalities in the colon and spot and remove pre-cancerous polyps, which can develop into cancer. Smith, who was partially sedated, was in high spirits during the procedure, even saying “hey there” to his liver at one point.

Couric, whose husband died of colon cancer just one year after being diagnosed, underwent a televised colonoscopy 10 years ago. Smith had his screening at the Jay Monahan Center for Gastrointestinal Health, named after Couric’s late husband.