Masseuse Spots Unusual Dark Freckle on Famous Radio Host, It Turned Out To Be ‘Stage Zero’ Skin Cancer: ‘I’m More Grateful Today Than I’ve Ever Been’

Speaking this week on Mike Graham’s show on TalkTV, Evans confirmed his skin cancer diagnosis, admitted he’s “not worried about it at all” and has gotten the “second best possible diagnosis.”

“The first being it’s all-clear, it is not cancerous. The second being we couldn’t have caught it any earlier,” he explained. “It is sometimes referred to as pre-cancer or stage zero because it’s what called in situ, which means it hasn’t moved yet, it’s making up it’s mind. And if you can catch cancer at that point that you can remove it before it’s decided what to do.”

Evans described the questionable dark spot on his skin, discovered by his masseuse, as a “freckle.” He noted how “fortunate” he is that he gets a weekly massage on Fridays, a change from his old habit of going to the bar, and how he feels maybe his diagnosis is “meant to be.”

He recounted his masseuse finding a “mark” on his left calf, something he had never noticed before. And despite her concern, he didn’t get checked immediately.

RELATED: Melanoma in Situ is Highly Treatable

The following week, when he returned for another massage, the masseuse urged him to get the spot checked out—so he did a few days later.

Even though the doctor didn’t think the freckle was anything to worry about, the biopsy ultimately revealed it was was skin cancer.

“They couldn’t have caught it earlier. I’ve got an operation on the 14th (of September) where they’re going to take a bigger patch of skin off the back of the calf,” he explained. “They’ll do a graft, and that should be it.”

Evans, who noted he has “lots of blemishes as he’s a red head and didn’t notice anything unusual about the freckle before his diagnosis, hopes his cancer story can inspire others to get checked early on.

He advised, “The thing about all cancers is that in the early stages of them, they don’t affect you, you just have it. And there’s nothing wrong with you. The biggest weapon you have against this, this and other conditions, is time.

“And the biggest weapon they have against you is also time. So their biggest weapon against you is your lack of time or the lateness of your detection and your biggest weapon against them is how early your detection is.”

Evans later said, “The thing about skin cancer is it can go up, down, north, south, east, west and you can go down into [the body] as well so I’m more grateful today than I’ve ever been for anything.

“I feel extraordinarily lucky, genuinely. I’m not saying this because it’s a cool thing to say but I’m very blessed and very happy to talk to you about it.”

He urged men “check it all out in the shower,” insisting, “the only thing to fear is inaction.”

Prior to his interview on TalkTV, Evans revealed the news on his radio show, saying, “We need to discuss what’s going on with this issue. It is a melanoma. There’s this phrase called a malignant melanoma – you know once you get something, and you find out all about it – that is a redundant phrase because if it is a melanoma it is malignant.”

“But it’s been caught so early, just so you know, that it should be completely treatable,” Evans said on his show, according to The Mirror.

Understanding Melanoma

Melanoma starts in the same cells that give your skin, hair, and eyes their color. Only, in melanoma, the cells change in a way that makes them able to spread to other organs.

Changes to a mole you’ve had for a while or a new growth on your skin could be signs of melanoma, according to SurvivorNet’s experts. Though it’s unlikely that these marks are cancer, you’ll want to keep an eye on them and let your doctor know about any changes you do notice.

You’re most likely to find melanoma on sun-exposed areas of skin, like your face, neck, arms, and legs.

But, perhaps surprisingly, you might also find them in places that have never been exposed to the sun, like the palms of your hands or soles of your feet, on your eyes or mouth, or under your nails.

What Are the Symptoms of Melanoma?

The most important thing to look out for when it comes to finding melanoma is a new spot on your skin, or a spot that is changing in size, shape, or color, SurvivorNet’s medical experts say. The spot will likely also look different from all of the other spots on your skin (doctors call this the “ugly duckling sign”).

When checking for melanoma, remember your ABCDEs

The acronym ABCDE should be used as your guide when checking your skin:

• Asymmetrical moles: If you drew a line straight down the center of the mole, would the sides match?
• Borders: Is the mole irregular or jagged?
• Colors: Are there multiple distinct colors in the mole?
• Diameter: Is the mole larger than 6 millimeters (mm), about the size of a pencil head eraser?
• Evolution: Has the mole’s color, shape, or size changed over time?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, our experts say it’s time to see your dermatologist for a skin check.

Other red flags to watch for are:

• A sore that doesn’t heal
• Color that spreads from the border of a spot to the skin around it
• Redness or swelling that goes beyond the area of a mole
• Itchiness, tenderness, or pain
• A change in the way the surface of a mole looks
• Scaliness, oozing, or blood

Top 5 Ways to Protect Your Skin From Skin Cancer

Getting a Melanoma Diagnosis

Unlike with other diseases, the workup for melanoma is pretty straightforward and simple. If you spy a suspicious growth or mole, and/or you want to get evaluated for any worrisome spots on your body, your dermatologist will do a head-to-toe visual examination of your skin.

If a growth warrants further evaluation, you might get a biopsy, which just means removing a tiny piece of skin and sending it to a lab to test for cancer. A biopsy will rule out or confirm whether you have melanoma.

If your doctor happens to detect an advanced melanoma, you may need to have imaging and blood tests done. This will allow your dermatologist to zero in on a specific diagnosis and determine your treatment plan.

The way that melanoma spreads is a bit different than other cancers. Rather than spread directly to other organs, it spreads to the different layers that make up your skin. The higher your stage of melanoma, the deeper it has spread into the layers of your skin, and the more serious your cancer is.

How does your doctor figure out your cancer stage? Medical oncologist Dr. Anna Pavlick explains.

Your doctor will stage your melanoma based on how deep the cancer has gone into your skin.

• Melanoma in situ is a stage zero melanoma that’s commonly found on the top layer of sun-damaged skin. It is highly treatable with surgical removal, and it does not usually invade beyond the skin or spread to other organs.
• Stage I melanoma is no bigger than the size of a sharpened pencil. It’s easily cured by having a dermatologist remove it.
• Stage II melanoma has spread slightly deeper into the skin.
• Stage III melanoma has spread into the lymph nodes.
• Stage IV is when the melanoma has reached other organs, like the lungs, liver, or brain.

Knowing the stage and other characteristics of your cancer will help your doctor zero in on the right treatment for you.

How Is Melanoma Treated?

There are several options when it comes to treating melanoma, and the approach depends on the stage of the disease as well as certain other factors. When the disease is caught in an early stage, surgery is likely the best option.

MORE: Dr. Nima Gharavi Explains How Surgery Is Used To Remove Skin Cancer

“The gold standard for treatment of melanoma is surgical treatment with wide margins,” Dr. Nima Gharavi, Director of Dermatologic Surgery at Cedars-Sinai, told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview.

In some cases of early-stage melanoma that’s close to the skin’s surface, Mohs surgery may be offered. This is most common in areas such as the face, ears, and nose.

In some cases, later-stage disease can be removed with surgery as well. For metastatic disease, there have been incredible advances when it comes to treating melanoma with immunotherapy in recent years. Immunotherapy drugs work to rally a patient’s own immune system to help recognize and fight cancer cells.

“When immunotherapy came on the market, it was such an exciting time for everyone involved in the care of melanoma, the main reason being is it went from this scary unmanageable cancer with no treatments to one that could potentially have a long-lasting result with patients absolutely never having to worry about their melanoma,” explains Dr. Cecilia Larocca, a dermatologist at Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

There are several FDA-approved immunotherapies for melanoma. Each is approved for certain instances of melanoma.

• Tebentafusp-tebn (sold under the brand name Kimmtrak)
• Aldesleukin (Proleukin)
• Atezolizumab (Tecentriq)
• Dostarlimab (Jemperli)
• Interferon alfa-2b (Intron A)
• Ipilimumab (Yervoy)
• Nivolumab (Opdivo)
• Peginterferon alfa-2b (Sylatron/PEG-Intron)
• Pembrolizumab (Keytruda)
• Talimogene laherparepvec (Imlygic)
• Imiquimod (Aldara)

The goal is to keep steadily reducing the chance of recurrence in all patients. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach.

Some people may not be candidates for this therapy. What works for one person might not work for another, and researchers are continuing to study new and better ways to use immunotherapy to fight melanoma.

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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