Bret Michaels, the longtime frontman for the band Poison, is speaking out this week to open up about a terrifying cancer scare that he went through earlier this year.
I appreciate y’all my adorable fans out there you guys really inspired me more on music pic.twitter.com/pbEdqmrLlt
— Bret Michaels fan page (@MichaelsBret23) October 30, 2023
Michaels’ Skin Cancer Scare
After the legendary singer Jimmy Buffett died of a rare form of skin cancer back in September, Michaels decided to get himself checked out. He had no idea that this simple decision quite possibly saved his life.
“I thought maybe it’s a good time just to check,” said Michaels, 60, while being interviewed on “Elliot In The Morning.”
“Most of what I thought was bad ended up being good and the one I thought was good ended up not being good,” he continued. “So we biopsied, went in immediately and right now everything’s looking great.”
This skin cancer scare has taught Michaels just how important it is to wear sunscreen.
“I love the outdoors and I love the sun,” he explained, adding that he previously thought that “if I [use sunscreen] once in the morning, I’m sure after 12 hours in the sun, it’s still working.”
“It turns out I was wrong,” he confessed. “It turns out that my information was incorrect.”
Michaels Living With Type 1 Diabetes
Michaels, who was previously treated for skin cancer back in 2020, has been living with type 1 diabetes since he was a small child, and this has taught him just how important it is to take care of himself.
“Right when I get to that edge of having nothing but a good time, it just pulls me back enough to be able to say, ‘Look, I’m diabetic. I’ve gotta take care of this,’” he said. “I do the five injections a day since I’ve been six years old.”
Even so, this doesn’t mean that Michaels will be shutting himself in to live life like a hermit anytime soon.
“I say this to everybody out there: You’ve gotta live, you’ve gotta enjoy yourself, and I found that balance,” he concluded.
Check out this full interview in the video below.
Related: Conservative Stars Jason Aldean And Toby Keith Team Up For Surprise Performance Amidst Cancer Battle
Buffett’s Skin Cancer Battle
Buffett died on September 1 after a four year battle with a rare form of skin cancer known as Merkel cell skin cancer.
“Buffett, 76, had been fighting Merkel Cell Skin Cancer for four years,” his official website reads. “He continued to perform during treatment, playing his last show, a surprise appearance in Rhode Island, in early July.”
Paul Nghiem, MD, PhD, chair of dermatology at the University of Washington School of Medicine and director of the Skin Oncology Clinical Program at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, told WebMD that more awareness needs to be raised about this type of skin cancer.
“There is another skin cancer besides melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma, basically the more common ones that one hears a lot about,” he said. “This cancer is more than four times more likely to kill somebody than a melanoma.”
Jimmy Buffett died of a rare skin cancer called Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC). MCC is the second leading cause of skin cancer related death in the US. It is extremely rare with only 2000 cases in the US per year. It typically presents as a firm, nontender, rapidly growing bump.… pic.twitter.com/iM7Drm0yFE
— The Surfing Hippie Skin Doc© (@Pmgraham86) September 7, 2023
Related: New Details Emerge About Jimmy Buffett’s Final Days After He Dies At 76
How To Spot Merkel Cell Skin Cancer
Travis Blalock, MD, director of dermatologic surgery, Mohs micrographic surgery and cutaneous oncology at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, agreed, saying, “Merkel cell carcinoma is an uncommon yet sometimes highly aggressive form of skin cancer.”
“Merkel cell carcinoma can sometimes present as a nondescript, rapidly growing tumor with a red or pink appearance,” Blalock continued. “Unlike melanoma, it lacks a well-known characteristic color.”
G’morning
Just opened yesterdays mail.. and got the results back from 9 biopsies done
All benign
It was released late yesterday that Jimmy Buffett died from Merkel Cell skin cancer he’s been battling for 4 yrs
Wear your spf gear and lotions folks#RIPJimmy pic.twitter.com/o8orngve4d
— ANDY (@teamregulators) September 3, 2023
Buffett would undoubtedly be happy to know that his battle with skin cancer inspired at least one person to get checked in Michaels, and perhaps even saved his life. If you have any concerns about something on your skin, be sure to get yourself checked out as soon as possible, because your life just may depend on it!
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