Veteran journalist and newscaster Chris Wallace, 74, recently revealed he has cancer.
Wallace shared his diagnosis during an interview with Dax Shepard and Monica Padman on the “Armchair Expert” podcast.
Putting a positive spin on his medical prognosis, Wallace shared: “I had skin cancer.”
Elaborating, Wallace said, “I had surgery on my nose, I had nose surgery….I thought I had taken [skin cancer] seriously…but I ended up with one right on the middle of my nose, and I had to have surgery.”
In a gentle, grandfatherly way, Wallace encouraged those who spend time in the sun to “lather yourself with SPF, and wear a hat and take it seriously.”
Suvivornet reports that though Wallace did not reveal the type of skin cancer he has, basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are the most common forms of skin cancer. Both are treatable with “surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and prescription creams.”
The American Cancer Society reports that more than 106,000 “new melanomas will be diagnosed in the U.S” this year.
Dr. Dendy Engelman recommends the following to mitigate the chances of being diagnosed with skin cancer:
Avoid the sun during peak hours. This means from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It doesn’t mean you should never go outside during the middle of the day, but make sure you’re protected when you do venture outdoors.
Cover your skin and eyes. A wide brim hat and sunglasses will protect your face, the top of your head, your ears, and the delicate skin around your eyes.
Affirming Wallace’s advice, Dr. Engelman says:
Wear an SPF of 30 or higher. Plenty of facial moisturizers have SPF built into them. Reapply often.
Get an annual skin check. You can check your own skin for anything that looks out of the ordinary, but you should still get a yearly check to make sure you didn’t miss anything. If you do happen to notice anything out of the ordinary in between checks, schedule an appointment to talk to your doctor about it ASAP — it is always worth it to make sure.
Avoid tanning beds. “There’s absolutely no benefit to going to a tanning bed,” Dr. Engelman says.
In his interview with Shepard and Padman, Wallace shared what was most helpful to him as he processed his cancer diagnosis and recovered from surgery—his involvement with the “Armchair Expert” podcast.
“I have this thing I like to call ‘calm-down time,’ which is I have about half an hour to 45 minutes at the end of the day,” Wallace said. “My lovely wife Lorraine goes to sleep and I sit next to her, and I usually read a book. But I wasn’t feeling like reading [after surgery] so I discovered podcasts and I discovered ‘Armchair Expert’…and I loved it.”
Finding something to live for—a person to help, a project to complete, a legacy to polish, a new skill to learn, an error to mend, developing the spirit, etc.—is perhaps the best response to a cancer diagnosis, according to a Stanford Medical study.
“Sometimes the biology of a cancer will dictate the course of events regardless of the patient’s attitude and fighting spirit,” wrote Dr. Ernest H. Rosenbaum, a physician at Stanford and author of the book, “The Will to Live.” “These events are often beyond our control. But patients with positive attitudes are better able to cope with disease-related problems and may respond better to therapy.”
“Many physicians have seen how two patients of similar ages and with the same diagnosis, degree of illness, and treatment program experience vastly different results,” Dr. Rosenbaum continued. “One of the few apparent differences is that one patient is pessimistic and the other optimistic.”
Attitude, outlook, and perspective are key components to persevering amid adversity. Many are glad to see a healthy level of optimism and the drive to live in Wallace.
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