MSNBC star Rachel Maddow revealed on Wednesday night that she underwent surgery to remove a cancerous mole from her neck, reassuring viewers that she’ll “be totally fine” and urging them to get checked out for skin cancer.
Having been off the air for the past few days, Maddow opened her primetime broadcast on Wednesday by asking her audience to “indulge me for a second” as she addressed a “quick personal matter.”
After recounting a story about attending a minor league baseball game a couple of months ago with her spouse, Susan, Maddow said Susan noticed that a mole on her neck had changed.
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“She was quite determined about it,” the MSNBC anchor recalled, adding that her longtime hairdresser also said that the mole looked different.
Eventually, after Maddow visited the dermatologist, the mole was discovered to be cancerous.
“Skin cancer accounts for the vast majority of cancers diagnosed in the United States, and the vast majority of skin cancers are removable and treatable,” Maddow declared. “Even the skin cancers that are the deadliest skin cancers in the country, those too are way more treatable than they used to be on one condition: that you get them early.”
Maddow went on to say she had the skin cancer removed via surgery on Friday at NYU Langone, expressing confidence that “they got all of it” and claiming she felt good enough post-surgery to do her show the same night.
“I am going to be absolutely fine, I’m going to be totally fine, but that is why I have a Band-Aid,” she stated, pointing to the bandage on her neck.
The longtime MSNBC host then ended her opening message by stressing to viewers the importance of getting regular screenings for skin cancer.
“You should get checked. If you’ve got moles like I do, just get on a schedule with your doctor. Schedule a check now with your doctor,” she said.
