‘Good Morning America’ Icon Reveals Cancer Battle

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Sam Champion is a true champion when it comes to spreading cancer awareness.

On the Friday, October 18, episode of Good Morning America, the beloved weatherman gave viewers an inside look into his skin cancer journey. Champion, 63, explained that he recently went to his doctor for a biopsy on a spot he had under his eye, which unfortunately ended up being cancerous.

After finding out about his diagnosis of nodular basal cell carcinoma, the TV personality subsequently underwent Mohs surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering earlier this month. Champion shared that the cancer was “larger and deeper” than he initially expected.

Champion had a red scar visible on his face from the surgery but noted, “The scar is not the problem; the skin cancer is the problem, so we got rid of that; the next phase of my journey will be scar care.”

Champion urged viewers to wear sunscreen and stay “vigilant” regarding spots on their skin. “I hope that one day no one has to go through surgery to get rid of skin cancer, but, right now, we have to keep our eye on our skin, our hands on our skin, be very vigilant, and notice any unusual spots, and if those spots start to change, immediately get care,” the weathercaster remarked.

The former Today anchor has dealt with skin cancer since he was 26 years old. He said he no longer leaves his house without sun protection, a sharp contrast to his earlier days of getting numerous “blistering sunburns.”

The ABC star stated, “When I’m not bringing you the weather, I love nothing more than being outside, but these days, I wouldn’t think about going outside without sunscreen. It wasn’t always the case.”

Champion has just begun his healing journey, telling his co-hosts that “we [his doctor and him] got them [the stitches] out just yesterday. There’s some scabbing along the lines, so I can’t put any makeup or do any skincare or scar care on this just yet. And it may be weeks before that scabbing ends.”

The Weather Channel alum also had his doctor perform laser treatments to remove the dark precancerous spots on his face to prevent those from turning into cancer.

The 4-time Emmy Award winner has been chronicling his skin cancer battle on his Instagram account.