Just days after Richard Simmons alarmed fans with a misguided “I’m dying” Facebook post – he isn’t – the former fitness guru now says he has recently been treated for skin cancer, specifically the burning off of a basal cell carcinoma on his face.
Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer and highly treatable. With proper care, the prognosis, according to the Cleveland Clinic, is “excellent.”
In a Facebook post yesterday, Simmons, who had noticed “this strange looking bump under my right eye,” detailed his doctor visits and treatment. After being told by his doctor that he’d need to see a “cancer doctor,” Simmons made the recommended follow-up appointment.
“I waited in his waiting room and said hello to all of these people who had skin cancer as well,” Simmons writes. “I was shocked to see all of the skin cancers that they had. Some had cancer on top of their heads…their face …and their neck.”
In the exam room, Simmons was told by his doctor that the cancer would need to be burned off the skin. “There was no numbing it just had to be done with a small instrument,” he said. “As he started burning my skin a tear dropped down my cheek. You can’t cry during this and he wiped my tear. The burning really hurt my skin. It lasted about 30 minutes.”
Later that day, the doctor called Simmons back for a second treatment. Simmons ends the post with, “to be continued…”
Earlier this week, Simmons posted his now infamous “dying” message, which read: “I have some news to tell you. Please don’t be sad. I am ….dying. Oh I can see your faces now. The truth is we all are dying. Every day we live we are getting closer to our death. Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to enjoy your life to the fullest every single day. Get up in the morning and look at the sky… count your blessings and enjoy.” He went on to offer diet and exercise advise.
He later added a second post: “Sorry many of you have gotten upset about my message today. Even the press has gotten in touch with me. I am not dying. It was a message about saying how we should embrace every day that we have. Sorry for this confusion.”