Broadcaster Adrian Chiles has revealed he was diagnosed with skin cancer after a biopsy confirmed a patch of skin removed from his shoulder was cancerous. The 58-year-old wrote in his Guardian column that he has been treated for squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer that develops in the top layer of the skin.
Chiles explained that he sought medical advice after noticing a change in a small area on his shoulder and stressed that his case is “nothing serious”. He wrote: “Oh yes, I almost forgot, it was a squamous cell carcinoma. All removed and won’t spread. So not nothing, but not serious. Needs keeping an eye on.”
He described the procedure, saying a dermatologist recommended removal after biopsy results confirmed it was cancerous. “I was back in for the excision, performed by the same guy I’d seen before,” he wrote. “All I wanted him to do was stop saying worrying things and, instead, whip out his scalpel, go in as deep as he fancied, and dig the bastard thing out. This he did.” He added that he had stitches for 10 days.
Chiles admitted the waiting period for results left him increasingly anxious. After 23 days, he received two NHS appointment notifications but no mention of his results. He found it almost impossible to speak to anyone, repeatedly being met with automated phone lines, and eventually received a message via an app informing him he wouldn’t be given his results until 18 December. He eventually secured a call back from a nurse who gave him the news directly, a moment he described as an enormous relief. “The human contact feels as good as any treatment or cure,” he added.
Chiles is best known for presenting Match of the Day 2 and The One Show, and now hosts a show on Radio 5 Live as well as writing a weekly newspaper column. He joins other celebrities who have shared skin cancer diagnoses this year, including comedian Katherine Ryan and chef Gordon Ramsay.
