The comic, renowned for her appearances on 8 Out of 10 Cats and QI, has spoken out about her diagnosis
The comic, renowned for her appearances on 8 Out of 10 Cats and QI, has spoken out about her diagnosis
Katherine Ryan said she is “really worried” after she was diagnosed with skin cancer for the second time. The Canadian comedian has become a household name in the UK with regular appearances on panel shows such as 8 Out of 10 Cats, Mock the Week and QI.
The 41-year-old has previously spoken out about how she was diagnosed with melanoma in her early twenties. However, she has revealed on her podcast, Telling Everybody Everything, that she has been diagnosed for the second time.
She said: “I know you should never Google things but I’m actually really worried. Normally I’m that positive person I think it’s really easy to take a diagnosis of ‘you’re healthy’ and walk away.
“But the mole kept changing, I know a lot about melanoma, I had melanoma as a very young woman – aged 21 – on my leg, I’ve spoken about that before.
“It was flat, it wasn’t that big but it was melanoma. It is a deadly form of skin cancer and it does spread quickly. I just thought that this mole wasn’t right.
“It’s on my arm. I showed pictures of it on my social media. I went in and I wanted the doctor to remove it and stitch it up in a straight line.
“But even when he looked at it, he was like, ‘it’s not melanoma, it’s totally fine, I will do a shave and send it away for testing. And he rang me today and it did come back as melanoma.
“Early melanoma. The doctor was shocked and told me I need to go back.” The star, who created Netflix show The Duchess, also worried what could have been had she not continued to seek medical advice.
She said: “It just feels crazy to me, what could have happened, if I hadn’t been my own advocate – and I will continue to be my own advocate.”
Speaking out her first diagnosis, Katherine previously joked about her first diagnosis and how moving to the UK had been the “best thing” for her because of the lack of warm weather.
She told The Guardian: “I just joked that it was free lipo. If you’re prone to skin cancer, then living in the UK is the best thing you can do.”
Katherine Ryan moved to the UK to embark on a career in comedy in 2008. She has since become one of county’s most prominent comedians and is currently a judge on Canada’s Got Talent.
