Richard Simmons reveals skin cancer diagnosis

(Fox News) – One day after concerning fans with a startling social media post in which he said he was “dying,” Richard Simmons revealed he’s been diagnosed with skin cancer. 

On Tuesday, Simmons took to Facebook to detail the moment he found out about the diagnosis and the procedure he underwent in attempt to remove the cancer cells. 

“Mirror mirror on the wall what’s that blemish which is so small? There was this strange looking bump under my right eye. I had a tube of neosporin which I would put on in the morning and the evening…. it was still there. It was time to call my dermatologist,” Simmons wrote in the lengthy post. 

“I sat in his chair and he looked at it through a magnifying mirror. He told me he would have to scrape it and put it under the microscope. Now I am getting a little bit nervous.”

“He comes back about 20 minutes later and says the C word. You have cancer,” he continued. “I asked him what kind of cancer and he said. Basel Cell Carcinoma. I told him to stop calling me dirty names. He laughed.”

Simmons said he was advised to seek treatment from a “cancer doctor” as soon as possible. 

The former fitness coach paid a visit to Dr Ralph A. Massey and underwent a procedure in which the doctor had to “burn” his skin with a small instrument to “remove the cancer cells.”

“As he started burning my skin a tear dropped down my cheek,” Simmons wrote. “You can’t cry during this and he wiped my tear. The burning really hurt my skin. It lasted about 30 minutes.”

Simmons said he was told to return in “an hour and a half” to see if the cancer had been removed successfully. 

“After driving around the city, I went back to some sad news,” he concluded. “I didn’t get it all out. He burned my face again. This time was worse than before… It was deeper. I did not cry this time but I did grit my teeth. ‘Come back in another hour and a half.’… .to be continued…”

A representative for Simmons did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.