Richard Hammond has revealed his friend Chris Evans is still ‘always on’ after the presenter revealed he has been diagnosed with skin cancer.
The former Top Gear presenter, 53, said the presenter, 57, is “doing well” after sharing his health struggles on Monday, after his cancer was discovered “very early”.
On Monday, Chris revealed that eight years after being granted all-clear status, he was diagnosed with stage zero skin cancer, but added that it is “as treatable as cancer can be.”
Richard, who will be joining Chris at CarFest this weekend, told Charlotte Hawkins and Adil Ray on Good Morning Britain: ‘He’s doing well. He’s fine. I saw him last night with a lot of other people.
“It was found very early. But he’s really crazy, he’s always busy.’
Development: Richard Hammond has revealed his friend Chris Evans is still ‘always on’ after the presenter revealed he has been diagnosed with skin cancer
Progress: The former Top Gear presenter shared that the star is ‘doing well’ after sharing his health struggles on Monday, after Chris shared an Instagram video ahead of his performance at CarFest
Following his diagnosis, Chris announced on Instagram on Friday that he would broadcast his radio show live from Carfest over the Bank Holiday Weekend.
Chris revealed on Monday that doctors had told him the news of his diagnosis after his masseuse — whom he labeled an “angel sent from heaven” — noticed a freckle and urged him to get it checked out.
He told listeners on his Virgin Radio show that the disease was found at an extremely early stage, adding that doctors have said the cancer is at ‘stage zero’ and is ‘as treatable as cancer can be’ . He will undergo treatment next month.
It comes after the star, who became a household name in the 90s and 00s thanks to his popular shows TFI Friday and Big Breakfast, became afraid of skin cancer in 2020.
He was tested for the disease after discovering spots on his body before Christmas. Before that, he was given “everything clear” after a prostate cancer scare in 2015.
He told the listeners, “I just need to talk briefly about… you know my biopsy for the skin cancer problem. So the best news I got while I was gone was that it was a positive test. So I tested positive for skin cancer.
“Better news would have been, of course, that it would have been negative. But the reason it’s such good news is that they caught it as early as possible.
“This only happened because Dee, this angel sent from heaven who gives me this massage every Friday, saw this freckle on my shin and said, ‘Do me a favor Chris, go get that checked out.’
Information: Richard, who will be joining Chris at Carfest, told Charlotte Hawkins and Adil Ray on Good Morning Britain: ‘He’s fine. He’s fine. I saw him last night with a lot of other people’
“I didn’t and the next week she said, ‘Have you been with someone because you just have to go.’ It’s probably nothing but that you have to go. That doesn’t look like a normal freckle to me.’ ‘
He continued, “Anyway, I went to test it. Finally I had surgery. So while we were out the email came through and the email was “could you please call as we need to discuss your results rather than everything just being clear”. So I was ready for something.
“But because they discovered it so early, it’s as treatable as cancer can be, to the extent that they discovered it at stage zero.”
Chris also said, ‘It’s a melanoma. There’s a phrase called “malignant melanoma” – you know, as soon as you get something and you learn all about it – that’s a redundant phrase, because if it’s a melanoma, it’s malignant.
“But it’s been discovered so early, just so you know, that it should be completely treatable.” (Treatment) will take place on September 14.”
The running enthusiast jokingly added: ‘I can’t run for a month after that, so until then I’m not going to do anything but run. Is that good?’
There are three types of skin cancer: melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma. Although melanoma accounts for only 1 percent of cases, it causes a large majority of deaths.
If caught early, the cancer is relatively harmless and can be removed quickly.
Health update: Chris revealed on Monday that he had been diagnosed with stage zero skin cancer but added that it is ‘as treatable as cancer can be’
Chris previously suffered from skin cancer and was tested for the disease after discovering strange marks on his body before Christmas.
He said at the time: “I had a few areas of my body inspected by a skin expert before Christmas and she said, ‘You should come see me again, just because of your skin color.’
He added that an expert told him he had “nothing wrong” but said she advised him to get checked once a year.
The presenter continued: “I have a particularly large freckle on the back of my hand at the moment.”
In the summer of 2015, Chris received the all-clear after undergoing tests for prostate cancer.