Christie Brinkley is warning her followers to be “diligent with your sun protection” after she was diagnosed with skin cancer.
The model, 70, announced her diagnosis Wednesday on Instagram, accompanied by graphic images of a gaping wound on her temple, which she also photographed stitched up and bandaged.
“The good news for me is we caught the basal cell Carcinoma early. And I had great Doctors that removed the cancer and stitched me up to perfection like an haute couture Dior,” Brinkley wrote in her caption.
Basal cell carcinoma is a type of skin cancer, per the Mayo Clinic. It begins in basal cells, a type of cell found in the skin. Typically, basal cell carcinoma takes form as a bump on the skin and is often caused by exposure to sunlight.
In her post, Brinkley said her type of cancer “can be avoided” and shared a message about the importance of sun protection, something she said she “got serious” about “a bit late.”
“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. And doing regular total body check ups..that is a MUST !” Brinkley wrote.
Brinkley said she was “lucky” a doctor found the basal cell carcinoma while she accompanied one of her children to their appointment.
“At the VERY end I asked if he could just look at a little tiny dot I could feel as I applied my foundation. He took a look and knew immediately it needed a biopsy! He did it then and there!” she said.
She concluded her post by thanking her doctors at New York’s Laser & Skin Surgery Center.
Brinkley has been open about embracing aging and is quick to respond to negative comments about her appearance.
In June 2023, she took to Instagram to call out the “Wrinkle Brigade.” She clarified that the term refers to “people that scan celebrities’ pages, hoping to find some cellulite, wrinkles, or anything that they can point to to critique.”
“It must be (some) form of compensation for something they are lacking,” Brinkley said. “But when those people appear, there are others who pop up with messages so kind and valuable. Those are the comments that restore my faith and make my heart sing!”