Christie Brinkley reveals skin cancer diagnosis, says basal cell carcinoma has been removed

Bridgehampton supermodel Christie Brinkley shared an alarming Instagram post Wednesday afternoon, with three photos, one of them quite graphic, of the aftermath of a procedure to remove a cancerous growth on her left temple.

“The good news for me is we caught the basal cell Carcinoma early,” she said in her long message. “And I had great Doctors that removed the cancer and stitched me up to perfection like an haute couture Dior,” she said, adding a thumbs-up emoji.

Before describing the circumstances leading up to the surgery, Brinkley, who recently turned 70, advised that, “The good news for you is that all of this can be avoided by being diligent with your sun protection! I got serious a bit late so now for this ole mermaid/gardener, I’ll be slathering on my SPF 30, reapplying as needed, wearing long sleeves and a wide brim hat. And doing regular total body check ups,” she added. “[T]hat is a MUST!”

The first of her three close-up photos shows a stricken-looking Brinkley in a hospital gown, with what appears to be strips of surgical tape covering her left temple and part of her forehead.

The second photo — which on some browsers or settings initially appears as a black square with white text, warning that the image is graphic and asking viewers to click a disclosure approval if they'd like to see it — shows Brinkley with a red gaping wound from which tissue was removed.

The third shows the wound having been stitched, with a blue-gloved hand near it, holding gauze.

“I was lucky to find mine, because I was accompanying one of my daughters to HER check up,” Brinkley wrote. “The Doctor was looking at each freckle with a magnifying glass … it wasn’t my appointment so I wasn’t going to say anything but at the VERY end I asked if he could just look at a little tiny dot I could feel as I applied my foundation. He took a look and knew immediately it needed a biopsy! He did it then and there! So make your own good luck by making that check up appointment today. And slather up my friends!”

She went on to thank dermatologists “Dr. [Ariel B.] Abraham, Dr. [Robert] Anolik, Dr. [Roy G.] Geronemus, [and plastic surgeon] Dr. Lloyd Hoffman at the Laser & Skin Surgery Center of New York,” which has offices in Manhattan and in Southampton, near where Brinkley lives.

Brinkley did not specify which daughter she had accompanied to the checkup: Sailor Brinkley-Cook, 25, her daughter with ex-husband Peter Cook, or Alexa Ray Joel, 37, her daughter with her Rock & Roll Hall of Famer ex-husband Billy Joel.

Both daughters commented on their mother’s post, with Joel writing, “Love you Mom” and advising a type of skin cream for the wound, and Brinkley-Cook posting four heart emoji. Actors Beverly D’Angelo and Rosario Dawson also wrote supportively, as did fellow supermodels Lily Aldridge and Beverly Johnson, the latter calling it “thoughtful, generous of you to share your experience. The lives that you are impacting is a gift.”