Christina Ha, MD, performed late-night talk show and Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel's first colonoscopy at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, USA Today reports. Mr. Kimmel tweeted a video of preparing for the procedure.
Here are five things to know.
1. Mr. Kimmel turned 50 in November, the age at which the American Cancer Society recommends adults begin getting tested for colorectal cancer.
2. News anchor Katie Couric accompanied Mr. Kimmel. Ms. Couric had the same procedure televised in 2007 after her husband, Jay Monahan, died from colon cancer.
3. Dr. Ha is a gastroenterologist at Cedars-Sinai focused on Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. She received her medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City and underwent gastroenterology fellowship training at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
4. Dr. Ha is an assistant clinical professor of digestive diseases and gastroenterology at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. Her research centers around Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, especially the natural history and clinical outcomes of irritable bowel disease in the elderly.
5. The televised procedure is intended to raise colon cancer awareness on behalf of Stand Up to Cancer, a charitable program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation that aims to raise money for translational cancer research.
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