Skin cancer can be a very scary diagnosis. While it's very common — one in five people are diagnosed throughout a lifetime — it's a reminder that we need to look after our skin. Even celebrities like Andy Cohen make the mistake sometimes. Luckily, he opened up about a situation he had that also involved Kelly Ripa.
While appearing on Jenny McCarthy’s SiriusXM show, Andy told Jenny that Kelly was responsible for his current good health. Back in 2017, he met up with Kelly and her husband, Mark Consuelos, at an art opening for Gloria Vanderbilt.
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"There was a dot on my lip that I had for a while that I was not paying attention to," Andy said. "Kelly came up to me and goes, ‘What’s happening with your lip?’ She goes, ‘Get that checked out today. That is skin cancer.’" Turns out, Kelly was correct. Andy went to book an appointment with a doctor and luckily caught it in time.
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While Kelly's comment may have seemed a bit brash, it was all out of love and concern. If Andy continued to ignore the problem, it's unclear what could have happened after that. "I went and got it checked out," he stated. "It was malignant melanoma." If you're not familiar with melanoma, it's a dangerous type of skin cancer.
Since getting it taken care of, Andy has been especially careful with sun exposure and other potentially dangerous hazards. He's also made a point to go to the dermatologist at least twice a year for a full body check. That way, he'll know if any other spots flare up in the future.
Andy was so thankful toward Kelly that he made a point to publicly say so. "I want to say, by the way, that I have to shout you out for something that you don’t know I’m going to shout you out for," he said back in 2017 on Live With Kelly. Back then, he quoted Kelly's response as, "I don’t think that’s something good."
“I just want to thank you because you were so dogmatic," Andy said. "No, honestly. And it’s all fine, but that’s a good friend and it really taught me because I am tanorexic. I love the sun, I really do." He added that he didn't think this sort of problem would ever happen to him. This is why a strong SPF is always important.
"I of course thought that that kind of thing would ever happen to me and it will change my relationship to the sun," Andy had added. "But you really helped me out there. And thank you for staying on me." This is an example of true friendship. If you see something looking suspicious on a person, it might be worth asking about in private.
Kelly and Andy have always had a tight friendship — which means a lot, especially since both of them have chatted up a majority of Hollywood talent. Kelly Ripa even once wrote up a lovely piece about Andy for Variety. Funny enough, it also came out in 2017 — right when the cancer diagnosis took place.
"My husband, Mark, and I first met Andy Cohen at a Christmas party at Bryant Gumbel’s apartment in NYC many years ago," she wrote. "At the time, Andy was an executive at Bravo who had this new idea for a show about a bunch of women from Orange County who 'lived in a gated community and had lots of hair and necklaces.'" Soon after, Andy approached them, and a friendship developed.
"We had many mutual friends, and the fact that we hadn’t met before was just actually plain weird to us," Kelly said. She also complimented him on the fact that he's legitimately a joy to be around. "I think the reason TV and radio audiences connect with him is because he is his authentic self and has a blast at that. Andy is the ultimate good-time Charlie; having dinner or drinks with him is like winning the lottery."
In short, Kelly always assumed that there was nobody out there quite like Andy. "Nobody has their finger on the pulse of everything the way Andy does," she wrote. "There’s simply nobody better." It's a type of friendship all of us should hope to have someday. It takes a real friend to point out an alarming health issue.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, more than a million Americans are currently living with melanoma. The amount of melanoma cases has actually doubled between 1982 and 2011. In that time, ideas about spending time in the sun have changed. For one, people don't often use baby oil to tan anymore.
As Elite Daily reports, baby oil actually intensifies the sun's rays on your skin. This means that you're absorbing more UVA and UVB rays, which will give you a quicker tan. However, it's not safe. Too much exposure to those rays can damage your skin cells and cause more severe sunburns. Also, the oils don't usually have any actual sunscreen in them, providing no protection at all.
Fewer people use tanning beds nowadays. The Skin Cancer Foundation is actively against using beds to tan indoors for big reasons. The stats are literally terrifying. By using a bed just once before the age of 35, you up your chances of getting melanoma by 75%.
Instead, plenty of people are trying to stay safe by using self-tanning creams to give off those beachy vibes while avoiding dangerous exposure to the sun. They're also making sure to wear sunscreen. It's vital on sunny days but also necessary on cloudy days if you're fair-skinned.
The more you know about skin cancer, the better prepared you are to fight it. Kelly Ripa deserves all the praise for being such an incredible friend, but Andy Cohen should also get props for following up and taking care of the issue. Remember, if something looks suspicious, there's no shame in getting a professional's opinion.
