Katherine Ryan has confirmed she has been diagnosed with skin cancer, adding that it came after an initial misdiagnosis.
The comedian, who has appeared on Taskmaster and The Masked Singer, revealed on her podcast, Telling Everybody Everything, that she has been diagnosed with melanoma for a second time following a previous battle in 2004.
In the segment, Ryan explained that she saw a doctor after becoming concerned regarding a mole on her arm, with the comedian being told that it wasn’t cancerous.
Unconvinced, Ryan went for a follow-up check, where checks revealed the initial diagnosis was incorrect.
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“I think it's really easy to take a diagnosis of ‘you're healthy’ and walk away,” she said. “You go, ‘Great, I'm healthy’, and you don't think about it again because that is the easiest news. But the mole kept changing - I just thought that this mole wasn’t right.
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“I went in and wanted the doctor to remove it and stitch it up in a straight line. But even when he looked at it, he was like, ‘Not melanoma, totally fine, I will do the shave and send it away for histology and if there's any borders that we missed, we will do the deeper cut’.
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“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.
"It just feels crazy to me, like what could have happened if I hadn't been my own advocate - and I will continue to be my own advocate.
Ryan, who has also appeared on Have I Got News for You, continued by saying: “If I had taken that good answer the first time and walked away, then I would have had melanoma just growing and spreading in my arm… God knows how far that would have gone.”
If you would like more information or support about living with cancer or treatment, please click here for guidance from Macmillan Cancer Support, or click here to learn more from Stand Up to Cancer.
Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
