At 70 years old, Christie Brinkley can boast of having been on the cover of more than 500 fashion and image publications for leading brands with a career as a model that has lasted more than half a century. A career that is now interrupted by a health setback, and the businesswoman has shared with her followers that she has been diagnosed with skin cancer.
The one who was the biggest supermodel of the 80s revealed through her official Instagram account that she suffers from a form of carcinoma and had undergone surgery, of which she was kind enough to share images to show in detail how they had managed to eliminate basal cell carcinoma, which she says she was lucky to have caught in time.
Bedridden in the hospital where she underwent surgery, Brinkley wanted to tell how she experienced the entire process, feeling very grateful to the specialists who helped her.
"The good news for me is that we detected the basal cell carcinoma in time," confirms the model, who thanks the medical team, who removed the cancer and "stitched her perfectly like a haute couture Dior."
The model also took the opportunity to educate her followers about the importance of using sun protection at all times. "All of this can be avoided by being diligent with your sun protection," she insists, admitting that she got it "a little late," but plans to stick with it from now on. "I'll slather on my SPF 30, reapplying it as needed, and wear long sleeves and a wide-brimmed hat," she promises.
Brinkley also urges her followers to get regular checkups, but not just of their skin, but of their entire body; Early detection is key to avoiding major illnesses, and can only be achieved by taking care of one's health. "I was lucky to find mine, because I was accompanying one of my daughters to her checkup and since it wasn't my date, I wasn't going to say anything," she remembers, talking about how she detected her cancer.
"I finally asked him if he could look at a little spot that I could feel while I was applying my foundation. He took one look and knew right away that I needed a biopsy," she reveals.
The skin cancer suffered by the model is basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer, accounting for 80-90% of skin carcinomas. It usually appears on areas of the body exposed to the sun, especially on the face, ears, scalp, shoulders and back.
They are produced by the growth of basal cells that are located in the deepest layer of the epidermis (which is the most superficial layer of the skin). It does not have the capacity to metastasize, although it can be locally invasive due to its slow but progressive growth.
Skin carcinomas in Spain have an incidence rate of 47 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2020 (source: Aecc Observatory), with a trend of increasing incidence in recent years. This year, 22,229 cases of non-melanoma skin cancers have been detected.
