Richard Simmons Reveals Skin Cancer Diagnosis

Just a day after worrying fans with a cryptic social media post claiming that he was “dying,” fitness guru Richard Simmons revealed that he was diagnosed with skin cancer. However, it sounds as though the 75-year-old’s doctor was able to remove all of the cancerous cells and he’s going to be just fine.

The former television personality, who hasn’t been seen in public in over a decade, took to social media to explain to fans what was going on. However, while the subject matter was serious, he managed to inject the news with a heaping dose of his trademark humor and heart.

“Mirror mirror on the wall what’s that blemish which is so small? There was this strange looking bump under my right eye,” Simmons explained in a March 19 Facebook post. I had a tube of Neosporin which I would put on I the morning and the evening … it was still there. It was time to call my dermatologist.”

“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,” he continued. “Now I am getting a little bit nervous. 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 Cell Carcinoma.’ I told him to stop calling me dirty names. He laughed.”

Simmons said he was told to see a cancer doctor straight away, so he contacted dermatologic and skin cancer surgeon Dr. Ralph Massey. During his visit, Simmons was informed that Massey would have to burn his skin to remove the cancer cells; a procedure which took three attempts.

“Well the third time was a charm,” he recalled in a follow-up post. “With a smile on his face, he said, ‘We got all the cancer cells out.’ I gave him a hug. We are not done yet, I have to stitch your face up. It took about 45 minutes and I was done. ‘I don’t want to see you back here again.'”

“My cancer was nothing compared to some people that I knew,” Simmons noted in his post, remembering friends and loved ones who have battled or lost their lives to the disease. “I know some of you reading this have had cancer or have known someone in your life who has had cancer,” he added. “Promise me you will see your doctor and get a complete check up.”

With any hope, the reclusive Sweatin’ to the Oldies founder will remain cancer-free from here on out.