‘Wear Sunscreen’: Lee Zeldin Reveals He Beat Skin Cancer
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin revealed in a message to X on Sunday afternoon that he had been diagnosed with and overcame a form of skin cancer.
Zeldin, in his post, expressed gratitude to the staff at Walter Reed Medical Center who “recently completely removed” the basal cell carcinoma (BCC) from his face. The Trump administration official said his experience is proof that early detection of skin cancer is crucial, prefacing his message with the words “PSA.” [public service announcement]: Wear sunscreen and have your skin examined.
“I’m relieved to be cancer-free and want to share my experience to help raise awareness for you and the people you care about,” Zeldin wrote in his post, which included a photo of him with a visible scar on the side of his nose. “It started as a small, pearl-colored, dome-shaped lesion on my nose. After a biopsy, it came back positive for BCC.” (RELATED: Zeldin Defends Americans Worried About Tinkering with the Sun: Not ‘Tinfoil Hat Conspiracy Theorists’)
PSA: Wear sunscreen and have your skin examined.
I am grateful to the incredible medical team at Walter Reed Medical Center who recently completely removed basal cell carcinoma (BCC) from my face.
I am relieved to be cancer free and want to share my experience to help raise awareness… pic.twitter.com/dNC06Grk77
– Lee Zeldin (@LeeMZeldin) December 14, 2025
“Like many people, there have been many times in my life when I spent time in the sun without sunscreen. That was a mistake. Consistently using SPF 30 or higher and having regular skin checks can go a long way to preventing this,” added the EPA administrator, who is married and has college-aged twin daughters. “I’m working from home today, catching up with Landman, watching the 2027 Super Bowl champion New York Giants play the Washington Commanders, and hanging out with my awesome wife.”
“Please encourage your friends and family to wear sunscreen and see a dermatologist regularly. Early detection is important,” Zeldin concluded.
PEACHTREE CITY, GEORGIA – AUGUST 21: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin applauds after introducing Vice President JD Vance to a crowd of supporters of President Donald Trump on August 21, 2025. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)
Days after winning his second term in November 2024, President Donald Trump announced he would choose Zeldin, a Republican, to lead the EPA. The Senate confirmed him on January 29 by 56 votes to 42.
Zeldin, an attorney and retired Army officer, served in the House of Representatives for four terms as a congressman from New York’s 1st District, which covers eastern Long Island. He did not seek re-election to a fifth term in 2022, but instead ran for governor of New York. He won the Republican nomination, but lost the blue state general election to Democratic incumbent New York Gov. Kathy Hochul by a closer-than-expected margin of six percentage points.
BCC is largely caused by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun, which sunscreen prevents.
Zeldin’s bout with BCC was not his first bout with cancer, as he was diagnosed with early-stage leukemia in November 2020. The following year, he announced that after treatment, he was in complete remission.
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