The Ben Mulroney Show - Listen to Johnny -- don't put off getting those important medical tests

Episode Date: July 16, 2026

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I hope you're having a nice afternoon. One of my radio colleagues, he's a really cool guy. He gets so nervous coming on talk radio, but he's such a fun guy. I've known him for over a decade now. Johnny Gobbit is one of the morning guys at Q107 in Toronto. And like most men, this is not a dig. Okay, maybe it's a dig. I'm a man as well.

So like most men, he delayed, delayed, delayed, delayed, delayed, delayed, delayed, doing something for himself. A fit test test. If you don't know what a fit test is, is a fecal immunocchemical test. It's an at-home colon cancer screening test that checks your stool for hidden blood. Most places offer these, you can get them done, but apparently Johnny, for some reason, decide to delay his.

All right, I should give him a lecture. Johnny, welcome to the show, so how are you? I'm very well, directs yourself. I'm really good. I did hear your morning show the other day, and I know that while you were kind of talking about this on air, you said you were really delaying getting a stool sample because you're waiting for a pretty one. Yeah, yeah.

That was the whole point, because everybody was like, why aren't you? you're getting it done. I'm like, well, you know, you've got to send it in the mail and I want to impress the mail carrier. So I'm just, I'm just waiting for one that I deem fit to send. It's so odd. Look, this is something that a lot of humans are sort of doing every single day, testing parts of their body to see what's going on. So it took your wife to finally give you a kick in the ass to get this done as it usually goes. So you finally did it. And what happened? So totally asymptomatic. And when you turn 50, you can, you can, you can, get one of these, at least in the province of Ontario. And so they sent it in the mail. And it's

that on the back of the counter for, I turned 50 in October until about a month ago. And eventually my wife is just like, can you please just do it? I'm seeing all these things online about cancer screening. Can you just do it? So I'm like, okay. Hang on. So hang on. It was sitting there from October last year, Johnny? Yes, sir. Oh, bro. Okay. Yeah. I hear you. So I decided to do it. And lo and behold, it's as easy as anything you can do. It took about a minute and a half to collect the sample, put it back into brown envelope, no pun intended, and into the mailbox it goes. So, you know, kudos to the letter carriers in this province that probably unknowingly, you know,

delivers fecal matter tests all around the province. So I sent it in and I got something back pretty quick. I said we found an abnormality. Oh. And so, you know, the light bulb goes off. And, you know, the anxiety rises. Oh, and you're an anxious person. Did you panic a little?

Very much so. But it said, just so you know, it could be anything from a false positive to the seward. And I'm like, okay, and anything in between, diverticulitis, hemorrhoids, could be anything. And I'm like, okay, there's a lot of options here that isn't the worst one. So let's go forward. So you have to do a colonoscopy. So on Father's Day was Prep Day. And I prep for my colonoscopy.

I've never done one before. Can you just, just for people that have never had a colonoscopy, could you just explain the prep process, please? It's so much fun. The prep process, I think, is way worse than the actual ceremony of the colonoscopy, where I had to drink two unbelievably foul-tasting bottles of liquid that literally turn your stomach into water. Yeah. And you just- It's like you're reading American lettuce. 100%,

but I will say this for anybody who is not get it done, after you drink the first bottle, trust your body. Yeah, stay at the house. Do not leave. Yes, trust it.

So if you think that it's a bit of a toot, it's not. Just go. I'm glad you're doing this. I'm glad we're having this conversation on the radio. Obviously, it is surrounded with just absolute layers of sarcasm. But these are seriously,

things. You've got to trust yourself when you drink this mixture. Absolutely. Yes. So prep day and then went to have the colonoscopy. And when I woke up from the colonoscopy, because they put me out, I was by myself because that day was my son's senior car, senior kindergarten graduation. So I wanted one parent to be there. So I said to my wife, go there and I'll do this and just come and get me when you're done. So as I came out of the anesthesia, he's like, we found something. He said, okay. He's like, we found eight different polyps. We could only get rid of six, but there's a 10 centimeter mass in your colon, and we're going to have to remove it in the next four weeks. I said, like, the pullup is no part

of your colon. They have to, so hang on, let me backtrack here. So they found some polyps, which is what my original question was. I'm like, oh, my God, do they find some polyps? And then, and then, no, I find out you have a mass in your colon. So they have to remove part of your colon, did you say? Yeah, so they're removing part of my colon at the beginning of August. They found eight polyps. Six were removed right then and there. Yeah. But the two that they found, they did a biopsy on and they sent it off to see what was said.

And they're both benign, both non-cancerous. So, you know, that was as an anxious guy that took some of the anxiety away. Okay. And I actually just went for my CT scan this week, which you have to do before the surgery, just to see because the mass is so big that it hasn't spread anywhere. And I just got the news an hour ago that I am fully non-cancer anywhere in my body. Okay. All right.

That's awesome. That's awesome. And that's the amazing news. But that mass still has to come out. Yes. And they did say if you decide not to get it done, it will turn into cancer at some point. Dude, get that thing taken out. You're like, yeah, let's do it now.

Can we move it up? Can we do it tomorrow? That's crazy. All right. So you're doing this in August, is this correct? August 5th is the date that it comes out. And the reason why is just sometimes in radio, as you know, directs, people just go away and it doesn't get mentioned of why they're gone or vacation and people kind of like go to their own sort of conclusions.

I wouldn't know anything about that. I just, so I just want to be open and honest that people that listen to Q107. And also just kind of be like, and when this happens, everybody is like, hey, is there anything I can do? And I said, yeah, there is. Go get your fit test. It's that simple. You know what? If you could just help one person, I don't want to help one person.

Yeah. I want to help 100, 200, 500, 100, 1,000 people get this done. And ever since I have, people have said, you know what, Johnny, two years it's been sitting in my shoe box door. Yeah, that's not going to know. Near the socks. You know what? I'm going to go get it done now.

All right. Here's what's interesting about fit tests. They're a great way to get an overall bit of a screen of what's going on. But it is worth noting that if you currently experience symptoms of blood in your stool, unexplained weight loss or abdominal pain, they suggest instead of doing a fit test, go straight to your doctor and get that sorted out. So I'm so happy that this is going to get sorted out for you. Are you going to, and look, I think there's an opportunity here.

I think you could live broadcast this surgery. I have been in contact with Corruses, AV department, to see if we could do some sort of live stream. Yeah, is it like a little camera that can put in you? Or like Katie Couric style early 90s when she did the colonoscopy live on the NBC Today show? Yes. Hey, whatever, you know, I'm a company guy, Dax. I'm a company guy. So whatever they want to do. Matt, look, look, look, the thing that gets the most clicks in this company is any video that Ben Mulroney does.

But I think you having a piece of your colon removed would also get thousands of clicks. Is there any way that I could get Ben inside the OR? Maybe as a... Oh, you wouldn't be able to shut the guy up if he was in there. Telling you. So there you go. But the big one is how asymptomatic I was. So all those things that you just listed, I had none of it.

None of those things. So do a fit test. And look, they'll send you one if you're over the edge of 50, depending on where you live, right? Well, here's the thing. I just found out. It has now been lowered in the province Ontario to 45. All right. So I should get a fit test then.

You should. You can go to your doctor. They'll send one to you in the mail and get it done. And I was speaking to Mike there just before I came on. He's going to do one too. it literally takes about a minute and a half. Yeah, I've done this before. You were just delaying it because you're a man who doesn't want to put anything near your butt.

That's just the way it is. Why do I have to do this? I don't feel I'm fine. I don't feel fine. I'll wait until there's a problem. Right. And that's how most men react, Johnny Gov. I'm glad that you, well, at the behest of your wife, finally got this done.

That's a good thing. Yeah, yeah, no, for sure. So, you know, if you're on the fence about it. And listen, worst case scenario is terrible. And we've all had people that have had cancer, and I've lost somebody very close to me who's had cancer. And I've seen what it does to the family. And if I'm just waiting on it because I'm too proud to not do it for some reason,

and then, you know, I don't want to do that to my family. I don't want to do that to my family. Johnny Garber from Q107 in Toronto, joining us on the Ben Mulroarney show this afternoon. Johnny, thank you, sir. luck, we'll chat to you after the surgery. Can't wait.