Vermeil said he had a basal-cell cancer growth removed from his nose late last week, a surgery that required 34 stitches. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, basal-cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer, affecting 800,000 Americans each year. It often affects men who work outdoors.

Vermeil, 68, said he had red marks on his nose that he ignored for too long.

“I figured it would go away,” he said. “It didn’t go away. They took a graph behind my ear and (put) it on my nose.”