England wicketkeeper-batter Sam Billings has revealed he underwent two operations to remove a malignant melanoma skin cancer last year.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Billings recalled he attended a skin cancer screening organised by his county cricket club Kent in 2022 during which a doctor opined that a particular mole in his body ‘didn’t look great’.
“It’s a full body screening where they look at every mole. There was one on my chest, by no means the biggest mole on my body, that the doctor, Andy Birnie, said didn’t look great. They decided I needed to have it removed so they could take a look at it,” said told the publication.
Two weeks later, he received a call from Ashford Hospital informing him to be at the facility the following morning with the Birnie informing him that the melanoma was on the threshold of getting really serious.
“I didn’t sleep well that night. In the morning Andy told me that I had a melanoma that was 0.6mm [deep]. The threshold of when it gets really serious is 0.7mm, so really close. If I had left that screening to go to the meeting, and waited until my next one six months down the line it could have been far, far more serious. The margins are so small but can have massive consequences,” the 31-year-old said.
He eventually underwent operation recalling how “At one point the anaesthetic didn’t work well so I was in huge pain. But I was home that night to begin my recovery.”