Sad news: Leontine Ruiters has skin cancer

It can happen to any of us and although you know that too, it still seems far away perhaps. Cancer. And then to get skin cancer. Terrible. Leontine Ruiters has skin cancer, she honestly shares. ‘It is treatable,’ she adds immediately. It concerns the most common form of skin cancer, she tells in her podcast Lon & Leo.

Yet it is a shock for her fans. Leontine calls it a sunspot herself, because it is a spot on her skin that has been exposed to the sun a lot. ‘I have to apply chemotherapy cream there, otherwise it will get bigger.’ She has also had her moles on her back checked. What she has is also called a basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Although BCC rarely metastasizes or is life-threatening, if left untreated it can lead to significant damage to the skin and surrounding tissues. BCC is the most common form of skin cancer, accounting for about 80 percent of all skin cancer cases. It usually occurs in people with fair skin and is often seen on areas of the skin that have been exposed to the sun, such as the face, ears, neck, scalp, shoulders, and back.

It remains scary, even though it is treatable. Leontine has a message for her followers on Instagram: ‘Always have your strange spots checked by a doctor. It can alleviate a lot of anxiety and early detection is essential. It is better to be sure and take action in time. So if you notice something unusual on your skin, my advice is: just always have it checked.’

About her breakup with Marco Borsato, she previously said openly that she has suffered from depression. Now things are better for the presenter.

We wish Leontine all the happiness in the world.

Image: @leontineborsato