YouTubers and best friends of over 30 years, Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal are no strangers to sharing revealing details about themselves on the Internet.
Hosting their beloved show “Good Mythical Morning” for over a decade, the duo has become known for their vomit-inducing snack creations, sharing their most embarrassing moments, and even getting vasectomies together after turning 40.
But in a new video, they take viewers somewhere they’ve never seen before: Their colons.
“We got colonoscopies,” Link said at the start of the video.
“Together,” Rhett clarified.
From there, a nearly 20-minute video ensues of the pair going on the intimate — and very important — journey.
“Recently, we both hit an important milestone: passing age 45, which means it's time to get butt-scoped,” Link said.
“Well, the technical term is colonoscopy, wherein a doctor explores your large intestine with a little camera to check for signs of cancer polyps, gastrointestinal abnormalities, missing puzzle pieces — it could be anything,” Rhett added, with a bit of humor.
Since they decided to undergo this procedure together as a bonding experience, they called it a “brolonoscopy,” and even fist-bumped with their doctor.
“This is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month,” the duo’s doctor, Peyton Berookim, MD, of the Gastroenterology Institute of Southern California, said at the start of their appointment.
“You guys are putting a huge spotlight on this, and you will definitely save some lives.”
Link retorted, in his hospital gown: “And that spotlight is going to be right up our butts.”
Fortunately for squeamish viewers, the video was edited thoughtfully and does not reveal anything too visually upsetting. It seems to be doing the trick; in just one day of the video being available on YouTube, it has reached more than 450,000 viewers.
And amid laughs spurred by anesthesia, and the classic banter between Rhett and Link, those viewers will likely come away knowing a lot more about colon cancer — and potentially even feeling more confident about getting a colonoscopy of their own.
Prior to going in for the procedure, Link asked how often folks should get colonoscopies.
“It depends on what I find,” Dr. Berookim said. “If I find polyps, which are abnormal growths, we're going to remove them. By removing the polyps we're preventing colon cancer. Cancer starts from a polyp and turns into something ugly.”
According to the World Health Organization, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.
Often, this type of cancer is diagnosed at advanced stages when treatment options are limited, meaning regular screenings are vital for early detection and prevention.
The importance of these routine screenings was displayed loud and clear in the video. During their procedures, both Rhett and Link had a few small polyps removed, which were found to be benign.
Although the experience was a little uncomfortable, and it’s always anxiety-inducing to be screened for cancer, the pair helped each other by providing witty commentary from the sidelines and highlighting what it looks like to have a robust support system when it comes to taking care of one’s health.
And once they were finished, they shared their parting wisdom — snacking on hospital cookies and Capri Suns — to over 18 million subscribers.
“I’m glad we did this,” Rhett said, recovering beside his friend.
“Schedule your colonoscopy,” Link exclaimed. “Do it. What’s your reason not to?”
“It’s actually kind of fun,” Rhett said. “Look how much fun we had.”
Header image courtesy of Mythical Entertainment/YouTube
