‘Golden Bachelor’ Star Faith Martin Shares Cancer Journey

Heavy/ABC "The Golden Bachelor" star Faith Martin shares cancer journey.

“The Golden Bachelor” star Faith Martin has revealed she’s navigating treatments for skin cancer after receiving a diagnosis in 2022.

Martin quickly became a fan-favorite contestant during Gerry Turnery’s journey to find love as “The Golden Bachelor.” She introduced Turner to her family during a hometown date, and then she was blindsided when he eliminated her. Now, she seems to be focusing on her family, her health, and maintaining her sense of humor as she works through the necessary treatments for her skin cancer.

Here’s what you need to know:

Faith Martin Was Diagnosed With Basal Cell Carcinoma

On December 13, “The Golden Bachelor” star posted a video on her Instagram page that revealed some information about her diagnosis. “My first Insta live from @ihop,” Martin joked.

She continued, “Enjoying #coffee and #waffles in between #skincancer removal treatments! Woot woot easy Peezy!!” Martin added a heart emoji and a hashtag that read “wear sunscreen.”

Martin had a bandage over her nose, and she joked about whether or not the bandage was noticeable. She was with her son Brenden, and she teased that perhaps she should take the bandage off so everybody could “really see” what was under it.

“The Golden Bachelor” star then said, “All I’m gonna say is, this is why you need to wear sunscreen.”

She then explained that she had just gone through the first part of treatment for the caner. At some point down the road, there will be a follow-up appointment with a plastic surgeon to “close it.”

Martin further explained that she had been diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma. “Too much ridin’ horses in the river in the summers without any sunscreen,” she admitted.

According to the Mayo Clinic, basal cell carcinoma “often appears as a slightly transparent bump on the skin.” It “occurs most often on areas of the skin that are exposed to the sun, such as your head and neck.”

The Moffitt Cancer Center indicates that currently available therapies “offer an 85 to 95 percent recurrence-free cure rate” for basal cell carcinoma.

‘The Golden Bachelor’ Star Is Prioritizing Self-Care Now

On November 9, Martin talked with Glamour about her cancer diagnosis. “The Golden Bachelor” star explained she became “religious” about sunscreen after she “ended up with skin cancer on my nose last year.”

Martin revealed she has “a divot on my nose from when they did the biopsy.” She never wore sunscreen regularly before her diagnosis, she admitted. Now, however, she is all about self-care.

“I haven’t been [in] the best of place over the last many years,” Martin admitted. “My ex-husband died, and I was grieving while also working a ton. I wasn’t really doing much self-care.”

“The Golden Bachelor” star recalled she gained some weight, stopped exercising, and recalled she was “stressed out all the time.” Martin shared, “People would look at me and go, ‘What’s going on with you, Faith?’ and I would say, ‘It’s just not a priority right now.'”

At the time, Martin noted, she “just sort of let everything go for the past five years that I felt like I was just surviving.” She seems to be in a much better place now and even has a sense of humor about her cancer diagnosis.

On December 14, Martin shared a selfie on her Instagram page. “You should see the OTHER Guy!! (It hurts when I laugh!),” she joked. “Being recognized in security line at airport! This is embarrassing,” she added.

Martin still had the bandage over her nose as well as a small bandage near her hairline. She added hashtags about sunscreen and skin cancer surgery to her caption.

“The Golden Bachelor” fan-favorite contestant received a lot of love and support from fans in response to her posts.

One fan commented, “LOL try not to be too funny to yourself 🤣. Still beautiful as ever!!”

Another fan added, “We love you no matter what and appreciate you sharing with us. I love how honest and real you are unlike someone else on Golden bachelor. ❤️”

Someone else noted, “Ouch! Heal soon, Faith! Glad it wasn’t anymore serious. You have so much more living to do and experiences to share with all of us ‘Faith believers’!”