Below Deck Down Under star Captain Jason Chambers has revealed he has been diagnosed with melanoma, a dangerous form of skin cancer. The reality TV captain shared the news in an emotional Instagram video, urging his followers to learn from his mistake of not wearing sunscreen.
In the video, Chambers explained that a biopsy on a spot he thought was harmless came back as melanoma. He said: 'Update on the biopsy I had. It came back with melanoma. I'm in Australia. That was done in Bali. The Australian doctors, which are fantastic in Australia, they weren't happy with what the indications told them to go to the stage two which would be to cut out a bigger section and test the glands.'
Chambers admitted he rarely used sunscreen while working on boats, relying instead on zinc on his nose. He warned: 'I never used to wear sunscreen when I was on the boat. For someone that spent their life in the sun, as a child playing sport to working on the ocean, I thought I was resistant to the damaging effects of the sun.' He added: 'With a diagnosed melanoma biopsy, I now have an anxious wait and what I thought was a skin spot turned in just 6 months, early detection is the key.'
Fellow Below Deck captain Sandy Yawn commented: 'Praying for good results.' Melanoma can spread to other parts of the body, but the NHS says it can be prevented by using sunscreen.
Chambers, 44, joined Below Deck Down Under as captain in 2022. He has a ten-year-old daughter, Saskia, with ex-wife Fuchsia Quinn. He recently made headlines for his handling of sexual misconduct incidents involving crew members Luke Jones and Laura Bileskalne on the show.
