Hugh Jackman has been photographed this week wearing a nose patch, confirming he had undergone a treatment for his skin cancer, the second time this year.
Forty-six-year-old Jackman who rose to worldwide fame playing Wolverine in the X-men movie series, was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, on November 2013. He immediately received his first treatment.
However, roughly a year before his first treatment, he went through another last May 2014. Nevertheless, Jackman remains realistic yet positive.
According to him, while he's lucky that his skin cancer is very minor and manageable with prompt treatment, he also thinks the third one may not be the last. He considers his lineage-that of European descent-and long exposure to the sun without sunscreen while living in Australia as the primary reasons for his recurrent skin cancer.
Following his surgery, his rep says that Jackman is doing well. He is currently filming Pan, where he plays Blackbeard. Chappie, a movie he had just completed, is now in postproduction.
In Australia, skin cancer is one of the most common types of cancer, primarily due to their exposure to the UV rays of the sun. It constitutes more than 75% of newly diagnosed cancer cases every year, beating the United States, UK, and Canada in terms of incidence.
There are three known kinds of skin cancer. The basal cell carcinoma, which Jackman has, and squamous cell carcinoma, are considered to be nonmelanoma and thus preventable with regular GP consultations. Men are about 50% more than likely to develop nonmelanoma cancers than women. Melanoma, though, remains to be one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in the country.
Aside from wearing sunscreen, which Jackman now advocates, a person who may be susceptible to skin cancer should monitor any changes to the skin, including non-healing crusty sores, appearance of freckles and new dark spots, as well as moles that have changed color, texture, and shape.