Richard Simmons reveals skin cancer diagnosis after posting concerning message about dying
Richard Simmons revealed he was diagnosed with skin cancer “so many years ago.”
The reclusive fitness guru shared the news on Facebook Tuesday, just one day after concerning fans with a message about dying, which he later backtracked.
Simmons, 75, said he noticed a “strange looking bump” under his right eye, which his dermatologist determined was basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer.
“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. Now I am getting a little bit nervous,” he wrote. “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 [sic] Cell Carcinoma. I told him to stop calling me dirty names. He laughed.”
After joking that his dermatologist suggested Botox to fix wrinkles on his face during the office visit, Simmons shared that he then saw Dr. Ralph Massey, who specializes in skin cancer surgery.
“He explained that he has to burn my skin to remove the cancer cells,” he wrote. “There was no numbing it just had to be done with a small instrument. As he started burning my skin a tear dropped down my cheek. You can’t cry during this and he wiped my tear. The burning really hurt my skin. It lasted about 30 minutes.”
The “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” host said Massey told him to return to the office in an hour and a half to make sure the cancer was gone.
“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.”
In a second post, Simmons assured fans that “the third time was a charm” and “all the cancer cells” were successfully removed without a scar.
“My cancer was nothing compared to some people that I knew,” he wrote Wednesday before urging his followers to “see your doctor and get a complete check up.”
He also made it clear in a third post that the scare “happened so many years ago,” admitting he “should be more careful” with his timelines on social media going forward.
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The health update comes after the flamboyant exercise personality penned an alarming Facebook post Monday saying he was “dying” and telling his supporters not to “be sad.”
However, he clarified hours later that he was “not dying,” adding, “It was a message about saying how we should embrace every day that we have. Sorry for this confusion.”
Simmons famously retreated from the spotlight in 2014 and closed his iconic Beverly Hills, Calif., fitness studio, Slimmons, two years later.
His sudden absence led the Los Angeles Police Department to conduct a welfare check at his home in 2017, but detectives subsequently said the weight-loss expert was “perfectly fine.”
Simmons most recently told The Post in 2022 via his rep that he was “happy, healthy and living the life he has chosen to live.”
