‘GMA’ Weatherman Sam Champion Returns With Bruise Under His Eye Following Cancer Treatment

Good Morning America weatherman Sam Champion is urging people to practice sun safety after his latest surgery for skin cancer left him with a surgical scar under his left eye.

The 63-year-old ABC personality appeared on GMA on Friday, Oct. 18, to share the latest chapter of his skin cancer story after an unusual mark on his face turned out to be nodular basal cell carcinoma.

“I hope that one day no one has to go through surgery to get rid of skin cancer, but, right now, we have to keep our eye on our skin, our hands on our skin, be very vigilant and notice any unusual spots, and if those spots start to change, immediately get care,” the Dancing With the Stars alum said Friday before the morning show played a segment that followed his appointment to get the spot removed.

“When I’m not bringing you the weather I love nothing more than being outside, but these days I wouldn’t think about going outside without sunscreen. It wasn’t always the case,” Champion continued, recalling the “blistering sunburns” he suffered throughout his career.

The TV personality had a cancer spot that was “larger and deeper” than doctors expected removed at New York City’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in early October. His doctor then went in with a laser treatment to remove precancerous spots elsewhere on his face.

Now, Champion says he doesn’t leave home without putting on sunscreen, encouraging viewers to do the same by demonstrating how he applies the cream everywhere – including his ears and scalp line. “No matter how old you are — my first one was at 26 — no matter what your skin tone, your skin type, your skin color, they’re cutting skin cancer off of everybody,” Champion stressed. “So, it’s everybody’s issue.”

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Champion previously documented his skin cancer treatment on social media on Oct. 2, sharing the following day on his Instagram Story that the cancerous area beneath his eye “was a spot that I had been watching” between his regular skin checks. “Always keep an eye on your own skin,” he advised.

And while Champion had spent his life chasing the sunshine, he says nowadays, “I haven’t done that in years now. When I’m in a beach chair, I have an umbrella, and I have my sunscreen.” He continued, “Sun exposure, I’ll be very careful with now. I don’t think legitimate sunbathing where you lay in the sun like a lizard, I don’t think that’s been a part of my recent past and it won’t be a part of my close-to future, either.”