Model and actress Christie Brinkley revealed her skin cancer diagnosis in a vulnerable health update to fans, showing the extent of her condition.
“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,” Christie, 70, wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, March 13. “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,” she continued.
The Sports Illustrated icon continued to give sage words of wisdom to her followers amid her skin cancer news, telling fans that “regular total body check ups” are a “MUST!” In fact, it wasn’t even Christie’s own medical appointment when her cancer was found, but one of her children’s. She shares daughter Alexa Ray Joel with ex-husband Billy Joel, and daughter Sailor Brinkley-Cook and son Jack Brinkley-Cook with ex-husband Peter Cook.
“I was lucky to find mine, because I was accompanying one of my daughters to HER check up,” Christie explained. “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!”
Christie shared that the biopsy was done “then and there,” and she was fortunate to have luck on her side.
“So make your own good luck by making that check up appointment today. And slather up my friends!” she concluded, before thanking her New York-based medical team for their support.
