Supermodel extraordinaire Christie Brinkley took to social media yesterday to share a personal health diagnosis.
As posted on her Instagram grid, the 70-year-old revealed that she recently had some skin cancer removed—while stressing a message of prevention.
“The good news for me is we caught the basal cell Carcinoma early,” Brinkley captioned. “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 !”
Brinkley then went into detail on how her diagnosis was a bit of a fluke: “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!”
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common type of skin cancer but, when found early, it is highly treatable.
As Brinkley shared with us a few years back, while she had some “sun damage,” she was serious about SPF.
“Sunscreen is the most important thing you can do, but it’s really important to Google before you buy your sunscreen. You have to make sure that it’s one that’s safe for the coral reefs; our coral reefs are under attack from the warming seas and all of that, and the chemicals. It really can make a huge difference—even if you live inland and you’re swimming in a lake or stream, or washing your face to get the sunblock off, it all leads to the sea. If we all decide to do that, we can really reduce the harmful effect of those chemicals on the coral reef. That’s vitally important to all of our survival. I feel strongly that we should protect our oceans.”
Brinkley also went on to praise her doctors to close out her post: “Thank you to Dr. Abraham, Dr. Anolik, Dr Geronemus, Dr Lloyd Hoffman at the Laser & Skin Surgery Center of NewYork 🌝🪡🪡🪡#skincancer #sunprotection #cancerprevention #skin #skincare“
