Deborah Knight to undergo surgery after shock cancer diagnosis

Former Today presenter Deborah Knight has revealed her shock skin cancer diagnosis live on radio and warned Australians to get their skin checked regularly.

On her 2GB radio show on Wednesday afternoon, Knight revealed she will undergo surgery for a basal cell carcinoma on her nose.

The 48-year-old told listeners that her dermatologist had taken a biopsy from a lump on her nose, and unfortunately, the results were “not the best news”.

“So I got the results from my biopsy from the bump on my nose that my dermatologist was worried about,” she told listeners. “I told Ray [Hadley] about it when I had the big whopping band-aid on my nose about this time last week. Well it’s not the best news. It is a small basal cell carcinoma.”

Basal cell cancers typically appear as a white, waxy lump or a brown, scaly patch on sun-exposed areas, and can often be treated with creams or other non-invasive treatments. However, the mother-of-three said these weren’t an option for her and she would need to go under the knife to have it removed.

The seasoned presenter quickly moved to reassure listeners that the cancer wasn’t spreading and wasn’t urgent, but wanted people to see her as a “living reminder” to get checked, saying Australians “can’t afford not to”.

“I’ll be fine, it’s not a serious matter at all but [the surgery] will happen in the next couple of weeks,” she said.

“We are always being reminded to get our skin checked regularly and to wear sunscreen and cover up when we are in the sun because it is so important. I just want to be a living reminder of that. Get your skin checked, because we can’t afford not to in Australia. We are the skin cancer capital of the world.”