Katherine Ryan shares health update after being diagnosed with ‘deadly’ skin cancer
She made the announcement last week.
Katherine Ryan has shared a fresh update with fans after announcing she’d been diagnosed with a ‘deadly’ skin cancer for the second time.
The Canadian comedian, 41, announced earlier this week that she had been told she had melanoma for the second time in the last 20 years.
She also revealed that, after going to visit her GP over a mole on her arm, she’d been given the all clear by doctors and told not to worry about it.
The Duchess star said: ‘I know you should never Google things but I’m actually really worried. Normally I’m that positive person. I think it’s really easy to take a diagnosis of “You’re healthy” and walk away.’
She continued: ‘But the mole kept changing, I know a lot about melanoma, I had melanoma as a very young woman – aged 21 – on my leg, I’ve spoken about that before.
‘It was flat, it wasn’t that big but it was melanoma. It is a deadly form of skin cancer and it does spread quickly.’
Katherine said the mole had now been surgically removed (Picture: Credit: TikTok/kathbum) Katherine showed her followers the picture of the plaster (Picture: Katherine Ryan/Instagram)Now Katherine has updated fans by revealing that the mole on her arm has been surgically removed, showing off a white dressing plaster on her Instagram story.
In the short clip, which the TV star filmed while travelling, she focused the camera on the plaster and zoomed in, captioning the post simply with one word: ‘Gone’.
She chose the Kendrick Lamar song Peekaboo to play over the images – specifically the popular ‘bing-bop-boom-boom-boom-bop-bam’ sound that has been used on TikTok and Instagram reels in recent weeks.
It looked as though the comedian travelled to her appointment by taxi, with an unused seatbelt buckle seen in the background of the video.
Katherine was first diagnosed with melanoma in her 20s (Picture: Instagram/Katherine Ryan) What is melanoma?As Katherine shared, melanoma is a form of skin cancer which is known to be particularly aggressive.
It grows from the melanocytes, the cells which form melanin and give skin its pigment.
Melanoma is known to grow quickly and can spread to other organs. Early detection — which Katherine has — is crucial in fighting it.
While it is the most deadly skin cancer, survival rates have been improving and around 87% of patients live for over 10 years after diagnosis.
Katherine said she had a gut instinct that the mole ‘wasn’t right’ and after looking at older pictures she insisted the doctor remove it and ‘stitch it up’ again.
‘Even when he looked at it, he was like, “It’s not melanoma, it’s totally fine, [but] I will do a shave and send it away for testing”,’ she added.
After testing, the doctor called her back with the diagnosis, proving that her gut instinct to get checked was the correct one – arguably saving her life.
The stand-up added: ‘He rang me today and it did come back as melanoma. Early melanoma. The doctor was shocked and told me I need to go back.
‘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.’
‘What could have happened, if I hadn’t been my own advocate?’ (Picture: Jeff Spicer/Getty)While she was still at university, a young Katherine discovered a ‘golf ball-sized lump’ on her leg which later had to be surgically removed.
The mum-of-three later told The Guardian that she was too young to fully comprehend the gravity of the surgery at the time.
Since that happened, she has had her moles checked on a regular basis and sometimes removed, joking that living in the UK is the best thing for anyone prone to skin cancer.
‘I just joked that it was free liposuction,’ Katherine told the publication in 2016 but has rarely discussed the surgery since.
Macmillan cancer supportIf you or someone you care about has been diagnosed with cancer, Macmillan can offer support and information.
You can contact their helpline on 0808 808 00 00 (7 days a week from 8am to 8pm), use their webchat service, or visit their site for more information.
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