Hugh Jackman opens up on skin cancer, encourages regular checkups

Hugh Jackman reflected on multiple skin cancer treatments and urging people to use sunscreen.

The Golden Globe winner appeared on The Howard Stern Show on Wednesday, December 10, where he shared his experiences with skin cancer and emphasised the importance of sun safety.

“I’ve had like six skin cancers. There are three types. Melanoma, the worst. Squamous cell not great. I’ve only had basal cell,” the Logan star said.

The Skin Cancer Foundation notes that basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer. It results from the 'abnormal, uncontrolled growth of basal cells' and is usually curable when detected early.

He added, “No one has ever died in the history of the planet but it’s a cancer and it grows and if you don’t take it out, it’ll get into your bones and then you've got to take the bone out.”

The 57-year-old Australian actor shared that his doctor warned he may face more skin cancer diagnoses in the future due to changes in his immune system as he ages.

“All skin cancer, all of it happens 25 years before the cancer comes. And he said it could be one time where you got burned really badly. Just one, obviously, growing up in Australia, I always had a high risk. But everyone should get a check. It’s the most preventable cancer, I think, that is around,” he said.

Reflecting on his past tanning habits, the X-Men star joked, “Even after the first one I had, I was like, ‘Ah, but it’d still be good to get a tan when I go away.’ I’m like, what was I thinking? You’re an idiot…Be the pasty skin guy. Who cares?”

Hugh Jackman revealed he first had basal cell carcinoma removed from his nose in 2013 after his ex-wife Deborra-Lee Furness urged him to check a mark and a makeup artist also noticed the spot while he was filming X-Men: Days of Future Past in 2014.