Model and actor Christie Brinkley has revealed that she received treatment for basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer.
“The good news for me is we caught the basal cell Carcinoma early,” Brinkley, 70, wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday. “And I had great Doctors that removed the cancer and stitched me up to perfection like an haute couture Dior.”
Brinkley wrote that she was diagnosed by chance during her daughter’s checkup. At the end of her daughter’s appointment, Brinkley asked the doctor to look at a “little tiny dot” that she had felt while applying her foundation.
“He took a look and knew immediately it needed a biopsy! He did it then and there!” she wrote.
Brinkley was the face of CoverGirl cosmetics for 25 years and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated several times in the 1970s and ’80s.
Basal cell carcinoma happens when the genetic material in the basal cell, the outermost skin layer, mutates. It’s known to affect areas of the body that are exposed to the sun, and it’s especially common among older people. Both President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden were treated for basal cell carcinoma last year.
In her Instagram post, Brinkley urged her followers to be “diligent with your sun protection” and checkups.
“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 added.
