Andy Cohen: Kelly Ripa told me I had skin cancer and to get to the doctor
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On Friday, Andy Cohen swapped his usual hosting duties for being the one in the guest’s seat when he visited Jenny McCarthy’s SiriusXM show. One of the stories that Andy told was about how Kelly Ripa saved his life by telling him to go to a doctor in 2017 to have an odd spot on his lip checked out, and it turned out to be melanoma:
“There was a dot on my lip that I had for a while that I was not paying attention to,” he recalled, explaining that he never bothered with the blemish until bumping into Ripa and her husband, Mark Consuelos, at an art opening for Gloria Vanderbilt one night.
“Kelly came up to me and goes, ‘What’s happening with your lip?'” Cohen continued. “She goes, ‘Get that checked out today. That is skin cancer.’”
The Real Housewives producer said he got a consultation with a doctor soon after the conversation.
“I went and got it checked out,” he remembered. “It was malignant melanoma.”
Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation from sunlight or tanning lamps can increase the risk of developing melanoma.
Since having surgery on his lip to have the spot removed, Cohen said he’s been “extra careful” about spending time in the sun and goes to his dermatologist twice a year for a full-body check for skin cancer.
People said that Andy was wearing two bandages during his interview, and also told Jenny that “he just got something ‘hacked off’ his face,” but he didn’t say anything else about what he’d had removed. Thank goodness Kelly noticed the spot on Andy’s lip and said something to him, and that he took her advice and went to the doctor. I know that I should go to a dermatologist on a regular basis, but I haven’t gone in a few years. I do keep an eye on my moles, though. I’m guessing that maybe Andy’s doctor found something else that they were concerned about and removed it to do a biopsy. If that’s the case, I hope it turns out to be nothing. This is also a great reminder to use sunscreen year-round!
photos credit: Getty
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