‘Golden Bachelor’ Contestant Faith Martin, 60, Warns ‘You Should Wear Sunscreen All The Time’ After Basal Cell Carcinoma Diagnosis

Sitting alongside her son Brenden Martin, in a video she recently shared on Instagram, the California native informed her fans, “I’m going to say is this is why you need to wear sunscreen. This is the first part of it and they have to go back in and close it up. Plastics has to close it. You should see it, though, it’s a hole.”

With bandaging on her noise, Martin explained further, “It was skin cancer. Luckily it was basal cell carcinoma. This is why I should’ve worn my sunscreen my whole life.”

Urging her son to be aware of the dangers of sun exposure, Martin continued, “This is why, my baby [refer, you should wear sunscreen all the time. Too much riding horses in the river in the summer without any sunscreen. I never wore sunscreen my whole life.”

Martin, who took the video “live” from inside an IHOP restaurant, captioned her Instagram post, “Enjoying #coffee and #waffles in between #skincancer removal treatments! Woot woot easy Peezy!! #wearsunscreen.”

In a followup post, revealing a selfie of Martin as she recovers from her first skin cancer procedure, the TV personality wrote, “You should see the OTHER Guy!! (It hurts when I laugh!)

“Being recognized in security line at airport! This is embarrassing#Shouldawornsunscreen #skinncancersurgery.”

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A post shared by Faith Martin (@faithsmartin)

Martin’s post was greeted with kind words and support from dozens of people, with one fan writing, “I had a basil cell cut off my forehead earlier this year.

“The scar was huge and ugly! After the scabbing all healed I bought the silicone strips and wore them 24/7 for about a week and you can’t even see the scar! They work amazing!! Good luck with yours, I’m sure you will still be beautiful after it heals!!”

Another wrote, “We love you no matter what and appreciate you sharing with us. I love how honest and real you are unlike someone else on Golden bachelor.”

“Once the initial phase is over those silicon tapes are great to reduce scars,” commented a third.

How Dangerous Is Basal Cell Carcinoma?

Basal cell carcinoma, or BCC, is the most common form of skin cancer. It develops when basal cells, one of three main types of cells in the top layer of the skin, grow abnormally or uncontrollably. In the United States, an estimated 3.6 million cases of BCC are diagnosed each year.

BCC is unique because it tends to grow slowly. This means it generally causes minimal damage and is usually curable when caught and treated early. Still, untreated BCC lesions can grow and become disfiguring and dangerous.

“Untreated BCCs can become locally invasive, grow wide and deep into the skin and destroy skin, tissue and bone,” the Skin Cancer Foundation website says. “The longer you wait to get treatment, the more likely it is that the BCC will recur, sometimes repeatedly.

“There are some highly unusual, aggressive cases when BCC spreads to other parts of the body. In even rarer instances, this type of BCC can become life-threatening.”

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There are some “highly unusual, aggressive cases when BCC spreads to other parts of the body.” Rarer cases of aggressive BCC can even become life-threatening.

Still, BCCs rarely spread beyond the original tumor site. But the longer treatment is delayed, the more likely it is that the BCC will recur, sometimes repeatedly. That’s why we stress the importance of treating BCC and treating it early. This can prove difficult, however, because BCC can often disguise itself as a pimple or skin tag.

The Skin Cancer Foundation says they can look like open sores, red patches, pink growths, shiny bumps, scars or growths with slightly elevated, rolled edges and/or a central indentation. The spots can ooze, crust, itch or bleed, and spots on people with darker skin can be pigmented (brown in color).

If you ever find yourself noticing a spot on your skin that seems abnormal for you, make sure to bring it up with your doctor. BCC can vary from person to person, so it’s always a good idea to pay attention to your skin, confront your doctor about anything questionable and prioritize checkups with a dermatologist.

Five Ways to Protect Yourself From Skin Cancer

Skin cancer can happen to anyone and develop at any time of year. It tends to occur on parts of the body that see more sun like the face, head, neck and arms, but it can also develop anywhere, including places like the bottoms of your feet, your genitals and the inside of your mouth.

If you’re wanting to minimize your risk of developing skin cancer, check out these tips from Dr. Dendy Engelman, a board certified dermatologic surgeon at Shafer Clinic Fifth Avenue.

Top 5 Ways to Protect Your Skin From Skin Cancer

1. Avoid sun during peak hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
2. Wear a wide brimmed hat and sunglasses to protect the tops of our heads, the tops of our ears and the delicate area around the eye.
3. Wear at least SPF 30 sunscreen and make sure to reapply every two hours or after excessive sweating or swimming.
4. Have yearly skin checks (with a professional) because it’s difficult to evaluate areas all over the body.
5. Avoid tanning beds. There are no “good” tanning beds, and they can significantly increase your risk of skin cancer.

In addition, make sure to prioritize skin protection all year round. People often focus on things like sunscreen use solely in the summer, but our experts know skin damage can happen at any time of the year.

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“My patients ask me all the time, ‘Do I really need sunscreen every day, all year round?’ The answer is yes,” Dr. Engelman told SurvivorNet.

“People think they only need sun protection when they’re in the bright, warm sunshine. But the reality is, we can get sun damage at any time throughout the year, even in the cold, wintry months. Think about when you go skiing. That’s a very high risk. Even though it’s cold, our skin should be protected.”

Fighting Cancer as a Parent

Faith Martin is a mom of two and grandmother of five, and although her son’s aren’t young children anymore, it’s clear that fear and concern are always real feelings between parents and kids, especially during a cancer battle.

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Facing cancer as a parent can be incredibly daunting. Fearful thoughts about leaving your children may creep into your mind and add even more stress to your already busy life.

Gina de Givenchy, like Faith Martin, also knows this to be true. She struggled to navigate the relationship with her 12-year-old daughter during her breast cancer battle.

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“I felt it was important to mask it because I really wanted her to know that I was going to be OK,” she told SurvivorNet. “I didn’t want her to see me weak and sickly. When it comes to your kids, I think you always want to sort of protect them.”

The pressures of parenting are always there, whether cancer is a factor or not. But feeling that pressure may actually be something that helps you battle the disease with everything you’ve got, according to colon cancer survivor Jovannie Lorenzo.

“I knew that I had to do everything possible to be here for my children,” the single parent of three previously told SurvivorNet. “They are my saving grace. They are the reason I wake up every morning. They are the reason why I fight every single day and I make a choice to be positive, to be happy, and to move forward.”

It’s also important to prepare children for what might happen in the future, but you want to be gentle with this sensitive subject. And there is no single way to go about discussing cancer with children, as widower John Duberstein previously explained with SurvivorNet.

Duberstein lost his wife to breast cancer, but before she passed away, the couple discussed her cancer with their children.

WATCH: Talking to kids about cancer.

“I think it’s really important to be open with the kids as much as you can, as much as you feel like they can handle,” Duberstein explained. “When Nina started to look less like a cancer patient, the kids started to make unspoken assumptions about where Nina stood.”

He went on to say as parents, they had to counter false narratives, which developed in their children’s heads about their mother’s prognosis. They had to gently remind them her cancer was not going away.

“It was hard for them to hear even though they’d already been prepared,” he further explained.

If parents find themselves nervous before having this conversation, licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Marianna Strongin said children can pick up on your emotions, so it may help to check in with yourself beforehand.

“If at this moment, you are feeling scared, it might be helpful to calm and soothe yourself first before speaking to your child,” she said. “Having these conversations may bring up deep emotions you may have stowed away. There is nothing wrong with showing our emotions to children as long as we can remain calm and give them a sense of safety.”

Helping them feel safe can mean giving them tools and strategies to manage their feelings about the situation.

“I love using my childhood self when explaining anything to children,” Strongin said. “I might say, ‘When I was your age, I remember feeling scared of many things, but one thing that always helped is taking three very deep breaths and telling my body it will be okay.’ It is these kinds of dialogues that allow our children to feel safe and in control.”

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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