Reality star reveals devastating cancer diagnosis amid serious warning to others
Below Deck Down Under star Jason Chambers has revealed he's been diagnosed with skin cancer. Sharing a candid video to Instagram, the reality star and captain admitted doctors have found a melanoma, a dangerous type of skin cancer that 'develops from malignant cells in the melanocytes, the cells that give skin its colour'.
In the clip, Jason admitted to not wearing suncream as he warned his 344K followers to not follow in his footsteps. He said: "Update on the biopsy I had. It came back with melanoma. I’m in Australia. That was done in Bali. The Australian doctors, which are fantastic in Australia, they weren’t happy with what the indications told them to go to the stage two which would be to cut out a bigger section and test the glands. Look Australia, two out of three people suffer from melanoma. It’s a big thing. I never used to wear sunscreen when I was on the boat.
"I used to put zinc on my nose, the reason being the chemicals. But there’s so many products out there that are chemical-free now, which is great. For someone that spent their life in the sun, as a child playing sport to working on the ocean, I thought I was resistant to the damaging effects of the sun."
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He continued: "I love the sun and its health benefits are evident, but be wise and like everything in life, it’s all about balance, choose your battles. With a diagnosed melanoma biopsy, I now have an anxious wait and what I thought was a skin spot turned in just 6 months, early detection is the key."
Jason was inundated with support in the comments section, as fellow Below Deck captain Sandy Yawn commented: "Praying for good results". Melanoma is a type of cancer that can spread to other body areas, and can be prevented by use of suncream, according to the NHS.
A staple on Below Deck Down Under, Jason joined the show as a captain in 2022. The series is an Australian spin-off of Below Deck, which follows the lives of crew members who live and work aboard a mega yacht.
Jason is a dad to ten-year-old daughter Saskia, who he shares with ex-wife Fuchsia Quinn. He recently made news for speaking out about the recent incidents of sexual misconduct that occurred on the Australian reality show. In an Instagram post, the Captain expressed gratitude to the production team for their swift intervention during two unsettling incidents and addressed the outpouring of messages he had received from concerned viewers.
The incidents in question unfolded on the latest series of Below Deck Down Under, involving crew members Luke Jones and Laura Bileskalne. In an episode that aired on August 7, Luke and Laura were shown attempting non-consensual sexual advances on their co-workers. The scene received a strong response from viewers, who praised Captain Chambers for enforcing a zero-tolerance policy against such behaviour
