AS the cheerful voice of breakfast radio for two decades, DJ Chris Evans is better known for his light-hearted patter and gags than for dishing out serious health warnings.
But after he was diagnosed with skin cancer this summer, the veteran broadcaster and telly presenter has urged others to follow suit in getting checked — after he initially ignored a malignant growth on his leg.
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Chris, 57, announced the news on his Virgin Radio early morning show yesterday and revealed he will have surgery to remove the growth, a melanoma, next month.
He added that he is optimistic it is treatable — but admitted he had been foolish to turn a blind eye after it was first spotted by a massage therapist.
He added: “Ultimately, if these things are ignored, they can prove fatal.”
He urged his listeners to “check your bits and your bobs” as he joked that doctors have banned him from his beloved long-distance running in the wake of his surgery.
Chris, who is just back from holiday, said: “I’ve just got to talk briefly about my biopsy for the skin cancer issue.
“So the best news that I got while I was away is that I have tested positive for skin cancer.
“Obviously better news would have been that it was negative, but the reason it’s great news is because they’ve caught it as early as they can, as early as is possible.
“It’s as treatable as cancer can be, to the extent that they call it ‘Stage Zero’. I’m having a surgery on September 14.
“I can’t run for a month afterwards so I’m going to do nothing but run until then. Is that OK?”
And he told his audience: “Just keep checking, because the biggest weapon in your arsenal, in our collective arsenal, is early detection.
“And so please do that.”
With his fair skin, Chris has long been aware of his increased cancer risk.
He revealed: “When I went to see a skin specialist three or four years ago for a check on a couple of other things on my hands, she said to me that because of my colouring, it was probably not a question of if, it was a question of when.
“She put me on alert and readied me for something that could happen — and it has happened.
“She said to me there was no way I should ever be out in the sun at the height of the day, or at least as far as even bare arms in a T-shirt.
“But for years I did, before I became aware.
“And lots of people will be — and I have been — putting factor 50 on. But I didn’t do that much when I was younger.
“The whole thing is about checking, especially if you are fair — if you have a freckle that has changed or appeared from no- where, or a mole that has appeared from nowhere or changed shape.
“Even though I was aware of all that, I didn’t see this thing on the back of my calf.
“I saw it was a freckle but someone else who works with skin, Dee, she’s my massage therapist, she looks at people’s bodies all day and she obviously has experienced this before and she felt there was enough of an issue to make me aware of it.
“Now bear in mind I didn’t see it, even though I am aware of this, but it’s true that lots of people have a tendency to ignore things — you know, blokes working topless on building sites, dads on beaches, wo- men, young, old, it doesn’t matter.
“It’s about checking yourself, whether it’s for melanomas or anything else. It’s bums, boobs, cracks, sacks — everything.”
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In 2011 dad-of-five Chris, who lives with wife Natasha and their children, had surgery to remove polyps as a precaution against colon cancer after experiencing discomfort on the toilet.
He says the episode has made him hyper-sensitive to symptoms and keener than ever to get checked at the first opportunity after years of avoiding medical appointments.
And eight years ago he was given the all-clear following a prostate cancer scare.
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But the fear of the disease remains at the forefront of Chris’s mind after losing his dad and two uncles to colon cancer and his late mum had breast cancer.
He added: “For years I was such a scaredy cat but I’ve had things taken out of me before that had resulted in the deaths of my dad, his two brothers and my mum.
“Cancer has had enough of us.
“I changed my thinking a while ago when I went to the toilet and there was clearly something very wrong.
“And up until that moment I was fearful of any possible test you could have done.
“For some reason this happened and it was so patently obvious.
“I finished what I was doing and phoned my GP straight away and it was like an epiphany. I was like, ‘Yes, I’ll get checked’.
“I now get checked too often for a couple of things, my doctor says.
“So with this (the melanoma) I went on holiday not knowing the answer. I was thinking it would probably be all clear but I had the biopsy anyway.
“The anxiety I had leading up to the email to tell me about the biopsy was far worse than being told the results. Much, much worse.
“What I realised then was, I don’t like not knowing.
“It is funny, because you go for the really invasive checks and the initially embarrassing ones with your stools and stuff, then you get this seemingly harmless freckle on your calf and you think it’s probably nothing — but it can be.
“Only a fool would ever want cancer, but if you have to have a cancer, this is the one you want, because it is Stage Zero.
“But it is morphing and it will move.
“One example of why it’s an extraordinary thing to look for is there is a high percentage of men who tragically lose their lives to melanomas which they don’t see because they’re on their backs.
“And they’re single men. You don’t see your back that often.
“And if it’s in your back in the middle of your shoulder blades, unless you have a partner or play in a sports team, it’s unlikely you will see that, ever.
“Unless you check for it on purpose. Get your partner to check you, it might be more fun.”
If caught early, melanoma is one of the most treatable forms of cancer, with a series of tell-tale signs which should be checked by a specialist if spotted.
GP Dr Rachel Ward said: “It is critical that people check their skin and if there is anything that they are concerned about, they should get it checked — a new mole, a mole that has changed in colour or size, or a mole that has bled are all things to get checked.
“If a mole or other skin lesion is not giving any symptoms, like pain, people can be reluctant to seek medical advice just about the way something looks.
“Chris’s experience is a good example of why it is still very important to do so.”
Gill Nuttal, founder of the charity Melanoma UK, added: “It’s great that Chris has been so vocal about his diagnosis.
“Melanoma is on the increase in the UK and men are more likely to die of the disease than women.
“That’s why Chris’s message is so important. We need to encourage more men to check their skin, use sun protection and, if they spot something of concern, get it checked out.”
Chris added: “I could have gone and sorted it all out and it would have been all right and I’d have not mentioned it to anyone.
“But I just had a word with myself, as I’ve always done — ‘Will being on the radio talking about it perhaps get one person to get checked?’.
“Yes, it probably will. If that’s helped, then it’s actually my responsibility to do it.
“I wouldn’t preach to anyone, but if you’re not willing to do it for yourself, do it for those around who love and care about you and who, despite your best efforts, want you to be around for longer.”
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