Susie Dent has announced that she had a carcinoma removed, and the Countdown star has issued a strong caution to others following her cancer scare.
Chris Evans, 57, declared earlier this month that he was cancer-free, only weeks after publicly disclosing his condition.
The radio DJ had previously declared live on-air that he had been diagnosed with skin cancer in its early stages.
Countdown’s Susie, 58, spoke up about her own tale on his programme, stating that she thought she had a cut beneath her eye a few years back until her make-up artist advised her to have the blemish examined.
‘I had one under my eye, a few years ago now. And it just felt like a little cut. So it was a kind of linear one and just wouldn’t heal. And I just kept putting lots of different cream on it. So, I had it for too long. I had it for about a year,’ she said.
‘My GP said, “I’m going to say the word carcinoma, but don’t panic.” And then they took it off, they kind of excised it. So I’ve got a bit of a kind of scar under my eye.’
Susie stated that she was ‘really lucky’, as her carcinoma was one that ‘doesn’t spread’.
The wordsmith continued: ‘Just beware, because they don’t always look like moles or things that you would expect, and they can just look like little cuts.’
The TV star told the radio host that she’s usually ‘really good at going to the doctors’ – but in this case, she ‘genuinely just thought, “I have cut my eye”, and I didn’t think about it from one week to the next’.
She continued to insist to the show’s listeners: ‘Never be too embarrassed if it does end up being something that is completely benign.’
Susie reflected back on her 30 years on Countdown last month, revealing the one thing that would lead her to leave the cherished Channel 4 show.
When discussing what could make her lean towards exiting the show, she said: ‘I genuinely can’t imagine what it would be. People sometimes ask if I get bored because it seems like a very repetitive thing that I’m doing, but it’s honestly not. It’s a new challenge every time.
‘I have the best seat in the house with a guest next to me, as soon as the clock starts ticking, I feel the adrenaline.
‘I would say boredom but I don’t think that’s gonna happen! I just feel very lucky.’
Countdown is available to watch on demand on Channel 4.
What are carcinomas?
Carcinomas are the most common form of cancer, making up 85% of cancer cases in the UK, Cancer Research UK states.
Carcinomas start in epithelial tissues, which cover the outside of the body, such as the skin; cover and line organs, such as those in the digestive system; and line the body’s cavities, such as the inside of the chest cavity and the abdominal cavity.
The NHS outlines that symptoms of non-melanoma skin cancers can include:
- The appearance of a lump or discoloured patch of skin that persists after a few weeks and ‘slowly progresses over months or sometimes years’.
- The lumps may be red and firm and could turn into ulcers
- The patches are usually flat and scaly
- Non-melanoma skin cancer often develops on areas of the skin that are frequently exposed to the sun, including the face, ears, hands, shoulders, upper chest and back.
Macmillan cancer support
If you or someone you care about has been diagnosed with cancer, Macmillan can offer support and information.
You can contact their helpline on 0808 808 00 00 (7 days a week from 8am to 8pm), use their webchat service, or visit their site for more information.
