Chris Evans reveals he’s been diagnosed with skin cancer: ‘It’s been caught early’

The former BBC Radio 2 host said the disease was found in the early stages

Kate Ng
Monday 21 August 2023 05:13 EDT
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Chris Evans diagnosed with skin cancer as radio host opens up on health battle

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Radio presenter Chris Evans has announced live on air that he has been diagnosed with skin cancer.

Evans, 57, revealed on his Virgin Radio show on Monday morning (21 August) that his doctors broke the news to him just recently.

However, he reassured listeners that the disease was discovered in its early stages and he is hopeful he will have a full recovery after he undergoes treatment next month.

Evans said on his breakfast show: “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.”

He added: “But it’s been caught so early, just so you know, that it should be completely treatable.”

According to The Sun, the broadcaster said his treatment is scheduled to begin on 14 September.

Evans, who is a running enthusiast, joked that he won’t be able to run for “a month afterwards”, adding: “So I’m going to do nothing but run until then. Is that OK?”

He previously had a cancer scare in 2019 and revealed at the time he took a skin cancer test after finding unusual marks on his body before Christmas.

Radio DJ Chris Evans attends the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on October 26, 2008
Radio DJ Chris Evans attends the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on October 26, 2008 (Getty Images)

That year, the radio presenter said: “I went and had a few marks on my body inspected by a skin expert before Christmas and she said. ‘You need to come and see me again, just because of your complexion’. The expert advised him to get checked once a year.

Evans has also previously had a prostate cancer scare in 2015, but received the all-clear from his doctors. In 2011, he spoke about undergoing his first colonoscopy exam due to his family having a history of cancer.

He told the Daily Mail at the time that he had gone for a routine check-up, during which doctors found “some nasties up there” and removed them.

Chris Evans and Camilla, then-Duchess of Cornwall attend the live broadcast of the final of BBC Radio 2’s 500 Words creative writing competition at Windsor Castle on June 14, 2019
Chris Evans and Camilla, then-Duchess of Cornwall attend the live broadcast of the final of BBC Radio 2’s 500 Words creative writing competition at Windsor Castle on June 14, 2019 (Getty Images)

“They were pre-cancerous, not malignant – at least we don’t think so, they’ve been sent for a biopsy.

“The doctor said the only thing I could have done wrong was not come to see him,” Evans added.

The former BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show host is currently married to professional golfer Natasha Shishmanian, who he has been with since 2007. He was previously married to Billie Piper from 2001 to 2007, and Carol McGiffin from 1991 to 1998.

He shares four children with Shishmaniam, as well as daughter Jade, whom he shares with former fiancee Alison Ward.

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