Richard Simmons, who rose to prominence with his workout routines and fitness videos during the 1980s, said that is suffering from skin cancer and detailed his experience for his fans.
Simmons, 75, has been in and out of the limelight since bursting onto the scene nearly four decades ago as one of the world's leading fitness gurus. His story of being the chunky kid in school to someone who helped others lead healthier lifestyles has been told time and again.
His latest announcement is the second to spark concern this week, as he said two days earlier on Facebook that he was "dying." He later clarified that he was not actually dying, only that he was sending a message that "we should embrace every day."
The skin cancer diagnosis, however, is serious.
"Mirror mirror on the wall what's that blemish which is so small? There was this strange looking bump under my right eye," Simmons wrote on Facebook. "I had a tube of Neosporin which I would put on I the morning and the evening....it was still there. It was time to call my dermatologist.
"I sat in his chair and he looked at it through a magnifying mirror. He told me he would have to scrape it and put it under the microscope. Now I am getting a little bit nervous. He comes back about 20 minutes later and says the C word. You have cancer. I asked him what kind of cancer and he said. Basel Cell Carcinoma. I told him to stop calling me dirty names. He laughed."
TV personality Richard Simmons attends the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. (Getty)
Simmons offered an update a day later, sharing some promising news.
"Well the third time was a charm," he wrote. "With a smile on his face, he said, 'We got all the cancer cells out.' I gave him a hug. We are not done yet I have to stitch your face up. It took about 45 Minutes and I was done. "I don't want to see you back here again.
"Before I left, he checked my arms ,my back,my chest and my legs. I had a little Frankenstein under my right eye for a while . He gave me some cream to put on it which I did religiously. Because of his fine work I don't have a scar."
Simmons has been interacting with his fans again lately after choosing to remain out of the public eye for about a decade, starting in about 2013.
