Comic Ryan diagnosed with skin cancer for second time
Comedian Katherine Ryan has said she has been diagnosed with skin cancer for a second time.
Speaking on her podcast and social media, the Canadian star confirmed she had recently had a cancerous mole on her arm removed, and will have a further procedure next week to ensure it is all gone.
The stand-up comic, 41, was first diagnosed with cancer in 2004 when she was a student in Toronto, having a “golf ball-sized” lump taken out of her thigh as a result.
This time around, she said a doctor had initially dismissed her concerns, but tests showed that the mole was “early melanoma”.
‘Mole wasn’t right’
“If you know about melanoma, you’ll know it is a deadly form of skin cancer. It does spread quickly, and I just felt like this mole wasn’t right,” she said.
However, a doctor assured her the mole was not melanoma, she told listeners of her Telling Everybody Everything podcast.
“It’s really easy to take a diagnosis of ‘you’re healthy’ and just walk away… But the mole kept changing.”
She went back to the doctor, who still said it was “totally fine”, but removed part of it for testing.
The doctor then called her back and confirmed her suspicions were correct – it was melanoma.
She said he told her it had been caught “very early, so I highly doubt that it has spread”.
She added: “It just feels crazy to me, what could have happened, if I hadn’t been my own advocate – and I will continue to be my own advocate.”
Ryan is a regular on UK TV programmes like Live at the Apollo, 8 Out of 10 Cats and her own Netflix show, The Duchess.
She said “the whole reason that I was reminded to go back” to the doctor’s was because she had seen Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Teddi Mellencamp talking about her own melonoma.
“God bless that woman for being so transparent about her journey,” she said.
Ryan said she has “very fair Celtic skin” so wears sun cream “all the time” and also covers up her body – which has “over 100 moles” – when she goes out in it.
Her latest bout of cancer has left her wondering “what other moles do I need to have checked?”
She also urged listeners to find the time to get themselves checked and to “advocate” for themselves with their health concerns.
“You have to make space in your day for these appointments,” she said.
Last year, Cancer Research UK warned people to do more to protect themselves from the sun as the number of melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK continues to rise.
The charity predicted there would be a record 20,800 cases diagnosed in 2024 – up from a yearly average of 19,300 between 2020 and 2022.
The rise in diagnoses is due partly to a growing ageing population and an increase in awareness of the signs of skin cancer.
What is melanoma?
Melanoma, also known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that can spread to other organs in the body.
Melanomas are less common than non-melanoma skin cancers, but they are one of the most dangerous forms of skin cancer, according to the British Skin Foundation.
They can develop from existing moles, but they more often appear as new marks on the skin, the charity says.
This can appear anywhere on the body, but the most commonly affected areas are the back in men and the legs in women.
