Actor Tom Arnold Says He Just Had Skin Cancer Removed from His Upper Back: ‘My Kids are Taking Care of the Old Man’

“I had surgery last week to get some skin cancer removed from my upper spine and my son accidentally kicked out the stitches in his sleep…or so he says,” he wrote, replying to a follower who asked what was wrong.

My kids are taking care of the old man tonight ❤️💯 pic.twitter.com/aMMEtL8fBN

Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) April 20, 2021

The Off Topic podcast host has two children, Jax, age 8, and Quinn, age 5, with his ex-wife Ashley Groussman, 44, whom he was married to for ten years.

On a recent podcast with co-host and assistant Sasha Boggs, he spoke of his health issues.

“I've gotta be as healthy as possible,” he said. “You know I did almost died of heart failure 14, 13 months ago, I can't remember….”

Arnold also talked about his skin cancer, and apparently this is not his first scare.

“This week I have these skin cancers that you get when you don't wear sunscreen your whole life and you work in the fields. Because it wasn't invented then, so we used baby oil and iodine so …I have to get things removed once in awhile … This time it was bigger and it was in the middle of my back.”

He described how his son helped him when he noticed a streak of blood on his back through his shirt. “I need you to fix this,” he had said to Boggs. “‘Clean it up don't use alcohol use hydrogen peroxide.’ I said ‘I'm going to lay on the floor in the living room.'”

Arnold’s Rise to Fame

Arnold was a writer and actor on Roseanne, the hit sitcom that aired from 1988 through 1997. He was married to the controversial comedian Roseanne Barr, the star of the show. ABC did a reboot of the show in 2018 but it was pulled from the network due to some of Barr’s racist tweets.

The Iowa native, a proud Hawkeye from University of Iowa, first started doing stand-up on campus during open mic nights in the early ’80s, then headed to Los Angeles to make it professionally, and Roseanne gave him the boost that he needed to break further into the business on shows like The Jackie Thomas Show and his own show, simply titled Tom.

Arnold also hosted Fox Sports Net’s The Best Damn Sports Show Period for eight years, and has appeared on dozens of other TV shows and talk shows.

 

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Getting Healthy After Addiction

Arnold has been forthcoming about his battle with mental health and addiction over the years, and admits to slipping up with painkillers in 2008 following a motorcycle accident after years in recovery.

“You never beat addiction. Addiction will always be an enemy,” he told the late Larry King in 2018, while also chronicling his early sexual abuse as a child and growing up without a mother.

Luckily, Arnold says he is a lot healthier these days and recently lost nearly 90 lbs and credits his son’s birth to inspiring his weight-loss journey and health kick.

"Something inside of me changed," Arnold told PEOPLE last year about his positive adjustment to dad life. "I knew I needed to live as long as I could." He told the mag that at one point he weighed up to 287 lbs. Arnold said he gave up bread and cake and started circuit-training and doing abdominal work.

 

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"The moment I saw [Jax] I realized he deserves the best," he said, adding that he has much more energy to play with his son.

Hopefully Arnold is on the mend from his skin cancer scare so that he can go back to enjoying his newfound healthy lifestyle with his kids for many years to come.

Protecting Yourself From the Sun

Although it is unclear what type of skin cancer Tom is recovering from, regular skin checks are important to prevent skin cancer.

Dr. Dendy Engelman, a board-certified NYC dermatologist, tells SurvivorNet the top five ways to protect your skin from skin cancer.

1. Avoid sun during peak hours This means from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It doesn't mean you should never go outside during the middle of the day, but make sure you're protected when you do venture outdoors.
2. Cover your skin and eyes A wide brim hat and sun glasses will protect your face, the top of your head, your ears, and the delicate skin around your eyes.
3. Wear an SPF of 30 or higher This is easy enough. Plenty of facial moisturizers have SPF built into them. Dr. Engelman also recommends reapplying every few hours, or after excessive sweating or swimming.
4. Get an annual skin check  You can check your own skin for anything that looks out of the ordinary, but you should still get a yearly check to make sure you didn't miss anything. If you do happen to notice anything out of the ordinary in between checks, schedule an appointment to talk to your doctor about it ASAP it is always worth it to make sure.
5. Avoid tanning beds This one is obvious … but just a reminder, tanning beds can significantly increase your risk of developing melanoma. If you feel like you're just too pale, Dr. Engelman recommends a sunless tanner. "There's absolutely no benefit to going to a tanning bed," she said.

Even if you live in an area with cold winters, like Arnold did in Iowa, you still need to protect your skin. Some experts argue that people living in cold-weather states need to protect themselves even more because their skin isn’t as used to those summer months and they may burn more easily.

Melanoma Awareness, You Still Need to Protect Your Skin In The Winter

 

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