Dr. Oz Shares Colon Cancer Scare

When it comes to his health, Dr. Mehmet Oz, known as host for his popular, daily health television series, plays by the rules. He eats rights, exercises and tries to avoid anything that may pose a risk to his wellbeing. So when he took his own advice to get screened for colon cancer shortly after turning 50, he wasn’t too worried about the results. But after undergoing a colonoscopy, Oz experienced quite a scare when he learned his doctor found and removed a pre-cancerous polyp in his intestine that could have developed into cancer if left there.

"This was a shakeup for me," Oz told People magazine. "I have done everything right. I don't have any family history, and yet I'm high risk now."

Oz will need to be screened again in three years and then every five years after that since he has a personal history of polyps now. The usual interval between colonoscopies is 10 years for those not at high risk, according to the American Cancer Society.

"The only thing holding me back from a terrible outcome is the dumb luck that I checked myself out for the show,” Oz said. "I would have put this off, like a lot of people. But I bet this saved my life."

Oz revealed details about his colonoscopy on the season premiere of The Dr. Oz Show, from the prep process to the procedure itself. Click here to watch the video.