Fitness industry star Richard Simmons announced he has skin cancer just one day after sharing a social media post about dying.
The 75-year-old explained to Facebook followers that he’d found a “strange looking bump” on his face, which his dermatologist diagnosed as basal cell carcinoma.
“I sat in his chair and he looked at it through a magnifying mirror. He told me he would have to scrape it and put it under the microscope. Now I am getting a little bit nervous,” Simmons wrote in the post shared on Tuesday. “He comes back about 20 minutes later and says the C word. You have cancer. I asked him what kind of cancer and he said… Basel [sic] Cell Carcinoma. I told him to stop calling me dirty names. He laughed.”
“He explained that he has to burn my skin to remove the cancer cells,” the “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” star continued. “There was no numbing… it just had to be done with a small instrument. 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.”
Simmons said he returned to the office later that day and had to repeat the painful procedure. “After driving around the city, I went back to some sad news. I didn’t get it all out,” he went on. “He burned my face again. This time was worse than before…It was deeper. I did not cry this time but I did grit my teeth.”
Simmons followed up on Wednesday, saying his dermatologist said, “We got all the cancer cells out.” He concluded by urging his fans to be diligent. “Promise me you will see your doctor and get a complete check up,” he wrote.
The news comes after fans became concerned over a post Simmons shared about dying.
“I have some news to tell you. Please don’t be sad. I am …. dying,” he wrote in a post on Monday. “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,” he continued. “Get up in the morning and look at the sky… count your blessings and enjoy.”
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Simmons concluded, “If you have time I want you to listen to a terrific song. It is by Tim McGraw it is called Live Like You Were Dying. Live today and don’t forget to pray. Love, Richard.”
Shortly after the post received so much attention, Simmons apologized and clarified his statement. “Sorry many of you have gotten upset about my message today. Even the press has gotten in touch with me. I am not dying,” he shared.
“It was a message about saying how we should embrace every day that we have,” he added. “Sorry for the confusion.”