Canadian comedian Katherine Ryan, who appeared on The Masked Singer as Pigeon in 2023, has revealed she has been diagnosed with a type of skin cancer called melanoma for a second time.
The 41-year-old mum of three shared the news on the latest episode of her Telling Everybody Everything podcast, which was released today (March 21).
Katherine Ryan reveals cancer diagnosis
During the episode, the former Masked Singer contestant revealed she had previously felt anxious about a mole on her arm. As a result, she visited the doctor, who initially gave her the all-clear.
Katherine explained: “I know you should never Google things but I’m actually really worried. Normally, I’m that positive person.”
When she was 21, Katherine had melanoma on her leg, which she has been open about before. The Canada’s Got Talent judge described the disease as “a deadly form of skin cancer, and it does spread quickly”.
She continued: “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.’
After being told she had nothing to worry about, Katherine said the doctor rang her to tell her she had “early melanoma”. She revealed the doctor “was shocked” and told her she needed to visit him again.
Katherine questioned “what could have happened” if she “hadn’t been my own advocate”.
According to the NHS, melanoma is a “type of skin cancer that can spread to other areas of the body”.
“The main cause of melanoma is ultraviolet light, which comes from the sun and is used in sunbeds.”
‘Raging that doctors make so many misdiagnoses’
Following the announcement, Katherine’s fans reacted online.
“Sad news about comedian Katherine Ryan,” one user wrote on X.
Raging that doctors make so many misdiagnoses in cancers… Praying you get the all clear,” another person shared on Instagram.
“This is very painful and worrying,” a third remarked.
Read more: Katherine Ryan ‘axed’ from Celebrity Gogglebox as she admits she wasn’t ‘right’ for the show
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