Christie Brinkley faces a skin cancer diagnosis

Christie Brinkley, a model, actress, and entrepreneur, was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma.

Announcing her diagnosis on Instagram on Tuesday, Brinkley wrote, "The good news for me is we caught the basal cell Carcinoma early." And wonderful doctors removed the malignancy and sewed me up perfectly.”

In her message, Brinkley advised her followers to use sun protection daily.

“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 wrote.

Brinkley shared that she feels lucky to have caught it early after accompanying her daughter to a checkup, writing, “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 added before thanking her doctors.

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC), the most prevalent skin cancer, appears as “open sores, red patches, pink growths, shiny bumps, scars or growths with slightly elevated, rolled edges and/or a central indentation,” according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.