Richard Simmons shares he has been diagnosed with skin cancer

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — Richard Simmons is opening up about being diagnosed with skin cancer.

The fitness personality wrote about seeking medical care for a “strange looking bump under my right eye,” in a post on Facebook Tuesday.

“I had a tube of neosporin which I would put on I the morning and the evening….it was still there,” he continued. “It was time to call my dermatologist.”

Simmons wrote that he began to get nervous during the exam by his doctor.

“He comes back about 20 minutes later and says the C word. You have cancer,” Simmons wrote. “I asked him what kind of cancer and he said. Basel Cell Carcinoma. I told him to stop calling me dirty names. He laughed.”

According to his post, Simmons then saw a specialist to remove the cancer cells from his face but the first attempt did not clear all the margins.

“After driving around the city, I went back to some sad news. I didn’t get it all out,” he wrote. “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 said he was once again told to return and ended his first post by writing, “to be continued.”

On Wednesday, he posted an update.

“Well the third time was a charm,” Simmons wrote, sharing the doctor was able to successfully remove all the cancer cells.

Simmons added, “I know some of you reading this have had cancer or have known someone in your life who has had cancer. Promise me you will see your doctor and get a complete check up.”

He did not say when he was diagnosed.

CNN has reached out to his representative for additional comment.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of cancer and typically treated successfully with surgical excision.

The news comes after Simmons stirred concern over his health on Monday, when he said on social media that he was “dying.” He later apologized and clarified that his original post was meant to inspire “how we should embrace every day that we have.”

“Sorry many of you have gotten upset about my message today. Even the press has gotten in touch with me,” the fitness celebrity wrote on a post on X. “I am not dying.”

CNN’s Alli Rosenbloom contributed to this report.

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