Norah O'Donnell is looking back on the cancer diagnosis that served as a "wake-up call."
The CBS News anchor, 52, sat down with her dermatologist, Dr. Elizabeth Hale, on her "Healthful with Norah O'Donnell" podcast in an Oct. 21 episode, almost 10 years after being diagnosed with melanoma.
"Thankfully, Hale caught it early and removed it before the cancer spread," O'Donnell noted. "It was a wake-up call. Now, when I spend time in the sun, I seek out the shade, wear UV protective clothing, and consistently reapply broad spectrum sunscreen. Growing up in Texas, I spent a lot of time outdoors and got sunburned. One of my biggest regrets was going to tanning salons."
O'Donnell has previously spoken about her experience with cancer. In May 2017, during
Skin Cancer Awareness Month, she shared that she learned of her melanoma diagnosis after Thanksgiving the year prior.
"I couldn't understand how this could have happened to me," she wrote for Good Housekeeping at the time. "I took good care of myself — was this somehow my fault? Why had I waited to get my checkup?"
O'Donnell underwent surgery in early 2017. She said that she hoped her experience would be a "reminder to people to get checked," as melanoma is "the majority of skin cancer deaths, and it is easy to prevent."
According to the Mayo Clinic, melanoma is a type of skin cancer that "typically starts on skin that's often exposed to the sun," including the arms, back, face and legs. "Melanoma also can form in the eyes or in the genital area. Rarely, it can happen inside the body, such as in the nose or throat."
In her new podcast episode, O'Donnell said that after she originally spoke about her experience, she had "so many men" come up to her who had never gotten their skin checked before and thanked her for urging them to do so. She also said that if she could go back and do things differently, she would have worn sunscreen more frequently and would not have gone to tanning salons when she was younger.
"I really regret going to tanning salons," she said. "It's not worth it."
Hale told O'Donnell on the podcast that skin cancer is "the most common cancer diagnosed in the United States," but "when it's caught early, it's almost always curable," and she recommended every American adult get checked at least once a year.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Norah O'Donnell says past skin cancer diagnosis was a 'wake-up call'
