John Cena reveals past skin cancer diagnosis

John Cena recently opened up about his experience with skin cancer as part of a new partnership with Neutrogena.

Speaking to People, Cena said he was originally approached to be the face of the company’s “Sunscreen You Can’t See” campaign because of his “You Can’t See Me” catchphrase — but later shared that he had a personal history with skin cancer.

“I grew up in a small town next to Newburyport and Salisbury Beach. The Massholes call it the North Shore,” Cena explained. “Some of my earliest memories of summer are of small carnivals and people walking the beachside.”

Cena admitted he “never” wore sunscreen growing up. Eventually, he visited a dermatologist to have a spot checked.

“It wasn’t until I went to a dermatologist and got a skin checkup and had a cancerous spot removed from my right pec,” he said.

He recalled getting a phone call from the doctor’s office asking him to come back in to discuss the results.

“I was very lucky to have a great dermatologist who kind of, I guess for lack of a better term, held me by the hand and let me know that I wasn’t alone,” Cena continued. “The stats on this are overwhelming, but as much as I learn about them, those numbers don’t mean anything. I think the best way to hammer home a point is human-to-human connection. And I, as a human, can tell you: Man, that phone call’s not what you want to get because it is unpredictable and you don’t know how bad it’s going to be.”

“A year later I went back and had another spot removed close to my right shoulder,” he added. “It shows up like a white polka dot on the side of my chest and on my shoulder. If you watch WWE, you’ll be able to see them.”

Cena said he didn’t tell Neutrogena about his own skin cancer history until midway through filming the campaign.

“I’m very fortunate to hopefully be a mouthpiece to get people to use sunscreen,” he said.

Neutrogena released the first video from the Sunscreen You Can’t See campaign today. It’s available below.