Christie Brinkley has undergone surgery after being diagnosed with skin cancer.
Christie Brinkley has been treated for skin cancer (c) Instagram
The 70-year-old model - who has Alexa Ray Joel, 38, with former spouse Billy Joel and Jack Brinkley-Cook, 28, and Sailor Brinkley-Cook, 25, with ex-husband Peter Cook - feels "lucky" that doctors detected basal cell carcinoma early after she flagged a potential problem during a medical appointment she'd accompanied one of her children to.
Christie shared her news on Instagram, where she also urged fans to be "diligent with your sun protection" and getting anything they are concerned about checked by a doctor.
Alongside a photo of herself in a hospital gown with a wound on her face near her hairline, she wrote on Instagram: "The good news for me is we caught the basal cell Carcinoma early. And I had great Doctors that removed the cancer and stitched me up to perfection like an haute couture Dior.
"The good news for you is that all of this can be avoided by being diligent with your sun protection! I got serious a bit late so now for this ole mermaid/gardener, I’ll be slathering on my SPF 30, reapplying as needed, wearing long sleeves and a wide brim hat. And doing regular total body check ups..that is a MUST !
"I was lucky to find mine, because I was accompanying one of my daughters to HER check up .. The Doctor was looking at each freckle with a magnifying glass… it wasn’t my appointment so I wasn’t going to say anything but at the VERY end I asked if he could just look at a little tiny dot I could feel as I applied my foundation .
"He took a look and knew immediately it needed a biopsy! He did it then and there! So make your own good luck by making that check up appointment today. And slather up my friends! (sic)"
Christie ended her message with an expression of gratitude for her medical team.
She wrote: "Thank you to Dr. Abraham, Dr. Anolik, Dr Geronemus, Dr Lloyd Hoffman at the Laser Skin Surgery Center of NewYork #skincancer #sunprotection #cancerprevention #skin #skincare (sic)"
Tagged in Christie Brinkley Cancer Skin Cancer