ABC weatherman Sam Champion shares shock cancer diagnosis live on air

ABC weatherman Sam Champion revealed that he recently underwent skin cancer surgery as he was left with a large scar upon his return to the network.

The GMA host, 63, thanked fans for their support as he announced that doctors diagnosed him with nodular basal cell carcinoma following a biopsy under his right eye.

Champion said the cancer surgery wasn’t his first battle with skin cancer after previously being diagnosed at age 20, and blamed it on years of tanning and sunbathing.

“If I don’t bring you the weather, there’s nothing I love more than being outside,” he recently said in a Good Morning America clip. “I can’t even count how many times I’ve suffered from sunburn.”

Champion revealed he underwent Moh’s surgery to remove cancer cells under his right eye, and urged fans to get checked if they notice any questionable spots

Champion underwent surgery on his right cheek earlier this month and shared a series of tweets showing how he was recovering from the surgery after having his stitches removed.

He underwent a treatment known as Moh surgery, in which surgeons remove thin layers of skin one by one and analyze them under a microscope, continuing until only non-cancerous cells remain.

Champion said on social media that he had undergone three rounds of surgery and admitted he was ‘disappointed’ that surgeons had to go ‘deeper’ after leaving him with a large scar on his face.

‘I didn’t want any of that. I didn’t want a big gaping hole, and now I get a big gaping hole,” he told X in a video.

“I’m not going to like having a bigger scar than I thought, but that’s how it goes today.”

He later shared a photo of the post-surgery scar and stitches, urging fans to “pay attention to your skin and ask your doctor to examine anything that doesn’t seem right to you!”

Champion said he had three surgeries at the scene and admitted he was upset. The surgeons went ‘deeper’ and left him with a ‘gaping hole’

The GMA host shared the recovery of his scar and emphasized that ‘the scar is not the problem, the skin cancer is the problem’

Champion added that after Moh’s surgery to remove the cancerous spot under his eye, his surgeon also performed laser surgery to address the darker, pre-cancerous skin around his face.

He showed the areas where doctors used a CO2 laser to zap away spots that, if left untreated, could have led to more skin cancer.

Returning to Good Morning America after weeks off the air due to his surgeries, Champion said, “The scar is not the problem, the skin cancer is the problem.”

‘The next phase of my journey will be scar care, and believe me, there is a lot of progress in that too.’

Speaking of the emergency surgeries, Champion took to Instagram earlier this month and admitted he was “overwhelmed” by the diagnosis.

“Mentally, yesterday was a tough day,” he said after the operation. “I have to say that on the second pass I felt a little overwhelmed, but I think that’s normal and natural.”

Champion had previously shared his battle with skin cancer earlier this year, including removing several cancerous spots from his left eye in July when he shared a photo of himself with a circular bandage on his cheek

While Champion blames years of tanning for his bouts with skin cancer, he said he is now more careful than ever about protecting his skin from the sun.

Champion had previously shared his battle with skin cancer earlier this year, which included removing several cancerous spots from his left eye in July.

He shared a photo of himself with a circular bandage on his cheek, and once again urged fans to get themselves checked if they notice any questionable marks.

‘For about 30 years I have been reminding you to regularly have a doctor examine the areas on your skin that do not look good! I’ve had dozens of skin cancers removed, most of them simple basal cells… Today I had a biopsy of this under my eye!’

While Champion blames his bouts with skin cancer on years of tanning, he said he is now more careful than ever about protecting his skin from the sun.

‘I haven’t done that in years. When I sit in a beach chair, I have an umbrella and my sunscreen,” he said in a clip on social media.

“Sun exposure, I’m going to be very careful with that now,” Champion said. ‘I don’t think sunbathing where you lie in the sun like a lizard is legitimate. I don’t think that’s part of my recent past and it won’t be part of my immediate future.”