TV presenter Adrian Chiles has revealed he has had an operation to remove skin cancer from his shoulder.
The 58-year-old was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma when he finally received the results of a biopsy after a lengthy wait.
He reassured his fans through his Guardian column that it “won’t spread”, adding: “So not nothing, but not serious. Needs keeping an eye on.”
The Cleveland Clinic says Adrian’s type of skin cancer is caused by an ‘overproduction of squamous cells in your epidermis, the top layer of your skin’, which is most often caused by exposure to UV rays.
Adrian first saw a dermatologist at an NHS hospital after spotting a change to his shoulder.
It was arranged to have the suspicious patch of skin removed to check if it was carcinoma, and the procedure was swiftly carried out.
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However, the worrying wait for the results was fraught with admin issues that worsened his anxiety.
A week after the procedure he received a letter from the hospital reminding him of his operation date.
Some 23 days after the excision, he received two pings on his NHS app, both regarding appointments with dermatologists, neither mentioning results.
He was left chasing his tail as emails and phone calls to automated numbers failed to put him in contact with anyone that had any knowledge, or could help, with his situation.
The exasperated star eventually received a notification in an app ‘powered by Patients Know Best’ that his results wouldn’t be ready by December 18.
Adrian wrote: “By now I wanted to flush my phone down the toilet. This crap masquerades as communication, but communication is either two-way or it’s nothing.”
Eventually he received a requested call back from a nurse, who was able to deliver the news he desperately wanted.
Ironically, the call came at the same time he was meant to be in a hospital waiting room to see a different dermatologist; an appointment he couldn’t attend given he was 200 miles away.
Sharing his relief over their call, he wrote: “The human contact feels as good as any treatment or cure.”
