Richard Simmons reveals skin cancer removal procedure

A day after clarifying he was “not dying” following a cryptic Facebook post that seemed to intimate the opposite, reclusive former fitness guru Richard Simmons took to Facebook again to say he had a cancerous growth removed from his face.

In the lengthy post, Simmons said a “strange looking bump” under his right eye wouldn’t go away, so he sought the advice of a dermatologist.

After taking a biopsy, the doctor “comes back about 20 minutes later and says the C word. You have cancer,” Simmons recalled.

“I asked him what kind of cancer and he said. Basel [sic] Cell Carcinoma. I told him to stop calling me dirty names. He laughed.”

Simmons’ sense of humor continued, with him saying the doctor told him “now that you are here I suggest you put some Botox in your forehead lines and your smile lines and let’s pump up those cheeks of yours,” adding, “I patted him on his hand and said, ‘Not today doctor.'”

Simmons recalled that a skin cancer specialist “explained that he has to burn my skin to remove the cancer cells,” adding, “There was no numbing it just had to be done with a small instrument. As he started burning my skin a tear dropped down my cheek. You can’t cry during this and he wiped my tear.”

After 30 minutes, the doctor told him to return in an hour and a half to make sure it all had been removed, but it hadn’t. “He burned my face again. This time was worse than before…It was deeper. I did not cry this time but I did grit my teeth.”

Simmons was asked to return a second time, concluding his post, “….to be continued…”

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