Chris Evans says family deaths from cancer helped him pluck up the courage to get tested – as he is diagnosed with melanoma: ‘For years I was such a scaredy cat’
Chris Evans has told how his father and uncles’ deaths from cancer made him feel braver to get tested for potential illnesses.
The broadcaster, 57, announced on his Virgin Radio show on Monday that he has been diagnosed with skin cancer eight years after being given the all-clear.
The star had a skin cancer scare in 2020 after being tested for the disease due to discovering marks on his body before Christmas. Before that, he was given the ‘all clear’ following a prostate cancer scare in 2015.
In addition, in 2011 Chris had surgery to remove polyps as a precaution against colon cancer after experiencing discomfort on the toilet.
Fear of the disease remained at the forefront of Chris’s mind after losing his dad and two uncles to colon cancer and his late mum had breast cancer.
Tough: Chris Evans has told how his father and uncles’ deaths from cancer made him feel braver to get tested for potential illnesses
Scary: The broadcaster, 57, announced on his Virgin Radio show on Monday that he has been diagnosed with skin cancer eight years after being given the all-clear
He said this week: ‘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 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 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.’
Chris announced on his Virgin Radio show on Monday that doctors gave him the news of his skin cancer diagnosis after his masseuse – who he branded an ‘angel sent from heaven’, spotted a freckle and urged him to have it checked out.
Chris told listeners it was found in the extremely early stages, adding that doctors have said it is at ‘stage zero’ and is ‘as treatable as cancer can be’. He will undergo treatment next month.
He told listeners: ‘I’ve just got to talk briefly about… you know my biopsy for the skin cancer issue. So, the best news that I got whilst I was away, was that it was a positive test. So I have tested positive for skin cancer.
Family man: Chris has three sons and one daughter with professional golfer and part-time model Natasha, 38
Difficult: Fear of the disease remained at the forefront of Chris’s mind after losing his dad and two uncles to colon cancer and his late mum had breast cancer
Hard: He said this week: ‘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’
‘Obviously, better news would have been that it would have been negative. But the reason it’s great news is that they’ve caught it as early as possible.
‘This has only happened because Dee, this angel sent from heaven, who gives me this message every Friday, saw this freckle on my shin and said, “Do me a favor Chris, go and get that checked out”.’
‘I didn’t and then the next week, she said: “Have you been to see anyone because you just need to go. It’s probably nothing but you need to go. That doesn’t look like a normal freckle to me”.’
He continued: ‘Anyway, I went and got it tested. I ended up having an operation. So whilst we were away, the email came through and the email was “can you please call because we need to discuss your results as opposed to just all-clear”. So I was sort of ready for something.
‘But because they caught it so early, it is as treatable as cancer can be, to the extent that they caught it stage zero.’
Chris also said: ‘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. [Treatment] will happen on September 14.’
The running enthusiast jokingly added: ‘I can’t run for a month afterward so I’m going to do nothing but run until then. Is that OK?’
There are three types of skin cancer: melanoma, basal cell, and squamous cell carcinoma. While melanoma only makes up 1 percent of cases, it causes a vast majority of deaths.
If caught early, the cancer is relatively harmless and can quickly be removed.
Chris previously had a skin cancer scare and was tested for the disease after discovering concerning marks on his body before Christmas.
At the time, he 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”.’
He added that an expert told him he had ‘nothing to worry about’ but said she advised him to get checked once a year.
The presenter went on to say: ‘I’ve got a particularly big freckle on the back of my hand at the moment.’
In the summer of 2015, Chris received the all-clear after undergoing tests for prostate cancer.
A source to the Sunday Mirror: ‘Chris is fit as a fiddle and his problems are behind him.’
Chris told his Breakfast show at the time: ‘Thank you once again to Kenney Jones, of The Who, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer a couple of years ago and since recovery has been a fundraiser and supporter of Prostate Cancer UK.
‘Prostate cancer, and colon cancer, of course, are one of the most survivable forms of cancer there if caught early enough. It is not, one of the least. It’s a fine line between life and death, happiness and tragedy.
‘And I’ve got to say I’m in the middle of a prostate issue right now! I couldn’t stop. I have not been able to stop since Christmas – peeing – or wanting to go. So I’ve gone to the doctor.
‘I’ve done all the internet stuff that you shouldn’t do, I’ve gone on the internet, scared myself half to death, then gone to see the doctor. And we really should do it the other way around. However, I’m in the middle of the tests.’
Chris continued: ‘I’ve completely changed my tune on this over the last couple of years. So there you go. If you are worried about anything just go and sort yourself out – if not for you, for your family.’
In 2011, Chris opened up about undergoing his first colonoscopy examination because of the history of cancer in his family.
Chris’ father died of colorectal cancer and his mother was a breast cancer survivor.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘I went for this routine check and they found some nasties up there, and they removed them.
‘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.’
Skin cancer cases in the UK are on the rise, and it is currently the fifth most common cancer in the UK, with about 16,200 new cases each year.
Hugh Jackman, Khloe Kardashian, Molly Mae Hague, Andy Cohen, Caitlyn Jenner, Diane Keaton, and Ewan McGregor have all sought treatment for skin cancer.
Fame and fortune: Chris became a household name thanks to his wild lifestyle and TV show, TFI Friday – pictured with Billie Piper in the 2000s who he later married and divorced
Chris has three sons and one daughter with the professional golfer and part-time model Natasha, 38.
They met back in 2005 and tied the knot in 2007 after becoming golf partners at the All-Star Cup celebrity tournament in Newport, Wales.
The broadcaster was previously married to pop princess turned acclaimed actress Billie Piper, 39, from May 2001 to September 2007.
They married after dating for six months, Billie aged just 18, with the 16-year age gap between the pair sparking controversy.
