On New Year’s Eve, 33-year-old reality star Ariana Madix of Vanderpump Rules revealed in an Instagram post that she had a cancerous spot removed at the end of 2018.
Her doctors had reassured her all along that the spot she was suspicious of was no big deal, she shared with People . But she knew otherwise and pressed them to check it out. It turned out she was right to be concerned.
Madix’s fans saw her scar from the surgical biopsy at the I Heart Radio Alter Ego 2019 music festival. She shared red carpet pics from the event, which prompted many of her followers to inquire about the mark on her chest.
Her fantastic Stuart Weitzman jumpsuit didn’t hold everyone’s attention for long. Everyone’s eyes gravitated to the post-surgical mark clearly visible below her left collarbone. One Instagram user surmised that the mark was from a “central line placed under the skin to infuse chemo typically.”
But Madix quickly and politely corrected the person.
“No. It’s a large removal of skin from October,” she wrote. “Luckily it should heal vertically, but it’s about four inches long. The other one is in my pit crack LOL.”
Another Instagram user chimed in with an opinion, so Madix provided a bit more educational advice about her situation.
Ariana Madix on Skin Cancer Scare: ‘Be Persistent’ with Doctors, They ‘Told Me I was Fine’ https://t.co/XJttRGtDvo
— People (@people) January 22, 2019
“I believe she had a mole removed, all is clear and healthy now,” the Instagram user posted.
“Melanoma, not a mole,” Madix added. “Mole removal would be … ¼-inch scar.”
Madix did not give further details about the type of cancer, how invasive it was, or how she discovered it but did share a video of herself wearing bandages after the biopsy.
“I had to have a lil bit o’cancer removed from my body and lymph nodes biopsied,” she wrote. “Update: I’m not allowed to shower so I feel extra gross. Still waiting on biopsy results, lymph node biopsy results. Hopefully next week I get a clear on that. Until then, I feel really disgusting.”
She impressed upon her fans and followers that when they are concerned about something, to not let up and push the issue with physicians.
“When you raise concerns with a doctor, be persistent,” she wrote. “They told me I was fine for years.”
Once her test results came back, Madix took to social media to reassure her 1 million followers that she is healthy and feeling terrific.
“In the clear now!” she posted.
Madix definitely lucked out this time around. Accord to SkinCancer.org , melanomas are the most dangerous form of skin cancer. They often resemble moles and some actually develop from moles. While the majority of melanomas are black or brown like a mole, they also can be skin-colored, pink, red, blue, purple, or white.
Doctors and scientists have long blamed UV exposure, a lack of using sunscreen, and sunburns for attributing to melanoma occurrences.
