Consistent viewers of The Rachel Maddow Show have probably been wondering why the usual host has been off the past few broadcasts.
Well, Maddow returned to her 9 p.m. MSNBC show Wednesday, and explained the reason for her absence: She was getting surgery to remove a skin cancer.
Maddow and her partner Susan Mikula were taking in a minor league baseball game, when all of a sudden Mikula said she noticed a mole on Maddow’s neck had changed shape and felt maybe a trip to the doctor was necessary.
Apparently she was on to something because a dermatologist would later determine that the mole had become cancerous.
“There’s a lot of different kinds of skin cancer, but even the worst ones are eminently more treatable than they used to be, and if you get them early, they’re almost all treatable,” she said.
Maddow disclosed that she had surgery at NYU-Langone Hospital on Friday to remove the cancerous mole, saying “they [NYU-Langone staff] are fantastic, they got all of it,” adding, “I’m good … I am going to be absolutely fine, I am totally fine.”
The network’s most popular personality then instructed her viewers to get checked, a PSA of sorts. “If you’ve got moles like I do, just get on a schedule with your doctor. Schedule a check now with your doctor, and then when your doctor tells you ‘you’re fine, but you should do this every year,’ put it in the calendar in your phone for a year from now, and then actually come back and do that follow-up appointment … it very well might save your life.”
Wise words, indeed.
Rachel @Maddow shares that she had surgery last Friday to remove skin cancer. “I am going to be absolutely fine.” Her message to viewers: “You should get checked. If you’ve got moles like I do, just get on a schedule with your doctor. Schedule a check now with your doctor…” pic.twitter.com/NUD9PJjpCk
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 7, 2021