Christie Brinkley is opening up about her recent health battle.
The former model took to Instagram on Wednesday to reveal she had been diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer. But thankfully, her doctors detected it early and quickly had it removed! Phew! Alongside graphic pictures of her in recovery following the procedure, Christie reminded everyone to “slather up” in sunscreen regularly and get body check ups in the caption:
“The good news for me is we caught the basal cell Carcinoma early. And I had great Doctors that removed the cancer and stitched me up to perfection like an haute couture Dior. The good news for you is that all of this can be avoided by being diligent with your sun protection! I got serious a bit late so now for this ole mermaid/gardener, I’ll be slathering on my SPF 30, reapplying as needed, wearing long sleeves and a wide brim hat. And doing regular total body check ups..that is a MUST !”
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According to Christie, she got very “lucky” with her early diagnosis. The National Lampoon’s Vacation actress recalled in the post that she went with one of her daughters to a checkup appointment and asked the doctor about a “tiny dot” she noticed on her temple. When he took a look, he immediately knew something was wrong and ordered a biopsy. Christie explained:
“I was lucky to find mine, because I was accompanying one of my daughters to HER check up .. The Doctor was looking at each freckle with a magnifying glass… it wasn’t my appointment so I wasn’t going to say anything but at the VERY end I asked if he could just look at a little tiny dot I could feel as I applied my foundation . He took a look and knew immediately it needed a biopsy! He did it then and there! So make your own good luck by making that check up appointment today. And slather up my friends!”
What a great reminder to be diligent with using sunscreen on a day-to-day basis! We hope Christie is OK and send her so much love amid her recovery. See the pictures from her procedure (below):
[Image via TODAY with Hoda & Jenna/YouTube]
