Christie Brinkley took to Instagram on Wednesday to share that she had been diagnosed with skin cancer, and had surgery to remove it.

Christie posted a photo of herself in a hospital bed, with a bandage below her hairline on the left side of her face, as well as a series of more graphic photos documenting the procedure.

Brinkley, 70, wrote, “The good news for me is we caught the basal cell Carcinoma early,. And I had great Doctors that removed the cancer and stitched me up to perfection like an haute couture Dior.”

” … I was lucky to find mine, because I was accompanying one of my daughters to HER check up,” she goes on to say. ” … I wasn’t going to say anything but at the VERY end I asked if he could just look at a little tiny dot I could feel as I applied my foundation . He took a look and knew immediately it needed a biopsy! He did it then and there!”

“The good news for you is that all of this can be avoided by being diligent with your sun protection! I got serious a bit late so now for this ole mermaid/gardener, I’ll be slathering on my SPF 30, reapplying as needed, wearing long sleeves and a wide brim hat,” explains Brinkley.

She also explained she’ll be doing, “doing regular total body check ups..that is a MUST !”

The mom and supermodel advised her followers, “So make your own good luck by making that check up appointment today. And slather up my friends!”

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer, according to the American Academy of Dermatology, and is diagnosed in at least 2 million people each year.

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