E! News correspondent Melanie Bromley reveals she was diagnosed with skin cancer

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Melanie Bromley, 40, was about to go on air when she got the call from her doctor, telling her that her biopsy had come back positive
Her Basal Cell Carcinoma is the most common skin cancer in the US
Melanie doesn't go tanning or sunbathing, but admits she did get sunburn on her face as a child
Now cancer-free, she is worried it could come back - but plans to always have sunscreen on hand

Published: 13:27 EST, 13 July 2015 | Updated: 15:06 EST, 13 July 2015

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E! News correspondent Melanie Bromley has revealed that was diagnosed with skin cancer less than one month ago.

The celebrity news expert, 40, opened up about her experience in a personal essay on E! Online last week, discussing the stressful ordeal and what she learned from it.

Melanie was diagnosed with Basal Cell Carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer in the US, but is happily now cancer-free.

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Confession: E! News correspondent Melanie Bromley revealed in an essay on E! Online that she was recently diagnosed with Basal Cell Carcinoma

Melanie was never one to go tanning or sunbathe. While her friends would lay out in the sun whenever they went on vacation, she would mostly stay inside after a childhood spent getting sunburned.

So a year ago, when Melanie noticed a small, light freckle on her forehead - which she describes as the size of a chocolate chip - she wasn't worried. In fact, she actually found it 'quite pretty'. Since it remained around the same size, she felt comfortable ignoring it.

A month ago, however, while Melanie was on vacation in the Himalayas, she noticed that her 'freckle' had changed. It was no longer symmetrical, and a little brown spot had turned up on one side. It occurred to her that the changes to its appearance should be cause for concern, but confessed that, since her schedule was too busy for her to slow down and give it any real attention, she 'pushed it out of my mind'.

Luckily, the correspondent had a dermatologist appointment for an unrelated matter scheduled when she got back to the US. While she was there, she pointed out the freckle to her doctor, still feeling carefree and mostly unworried.

Her doctor, though, felt differently, telling her that the mark didn't look right 'at all' and insisting she needed a biopsy.

Total pro: The 40-year-old (right) appears on E! News with stars like Bruce Jenner (pictured second from right before he became Caitlyn Jenner) and correspondents like Catt Sadler (left) and Ken Baker (second from left)

Startling news: Melanie (center) was about to go on air when she got a call from her doctor telling her that a biopsy had come back positive for cancer

A week later, Melanie was preparing to go on air to do a segment on Kate Middleton when her doctor called and gave her the bad news - it was cancer.

Unfortunately, she had to be on camera in minutes - so she hung up, reapplied her lipstick, and got back to work. While she was focused on being professional, Melanie also explained that her news didn't yet feel real. She was numb.

I am vain and I am on air, so a big part of my career is looking the part

'I had enough self-awareness to understand I had just been told something significant but hadn't yet fully processed it,' she said. But now she was worried that she would process it at exactly the wrong moment - while she was on air. Though she doesn't usually get nervous when the cameras begin rolling, this time she was scared.

She explained: 'It wasn't the diagnosis, but a fear that the magnitude of the situation might sink in right at the moment the camera faced me with its red light glaring. I was more petrified of screwing up my words and looking stupid in front of a room full of people than this alien thing growing on my face.'

Luckily, the segment went just fine, as Melanie continued to wait for the enormity of what she was going through to really hit her. Basal Cell Carcinoma is rarely deadly, but still, she acknowledged, 'it was the C word'.

So she went into 'planning mode', scheduling two procedures to remove the growth and then stitch up her face with a plastic surgeon the next day. All the scheduling kept her mind busy, while the fact that she had cancer still hadn't fully sunk in. It was almost business as usual - she even asked, after being told that her surgery could last six hours, if there would be Wi-Fi.

The risks: Melanie was worried that the scar left on her forehead would look unattractive, which is a problem for someone who has made a career appearing on television

Melanie Bromley exercises while working at E! News offices

Then, before surgery, her plastic surgeon explained that they would have to wait and see how big the scar on her head would be. Because they didn't know how many layers of skin the cancer had affected, it could be just a tiny, horizontal line - or a much larger scar that would make her look 'like Harry Potter's older sister'.

'My biggest fear was not so much the scar,' Melanie explained. 'I had already picked out a new hair cut complete with cool bangs, Jane Birkin style. (As I said, my priorities were off.) Instead I was worrying about having wonky eyebrows.'

She was told that the doctors would try to avoid that, but the enormity of the situation was finally hitting home. Melanie went out to the car and sat 'gasping for air through huge sobs' for 20 minutes.

'I am vain and I am on air, so a big part of my career is looking the part,' she explained. 'The cancer would be removed, hopefully (it can sometimes spread to the bones but that's very rare). I could even cope with the scar on my forehead. But a crooked face?'

Waiting for the procedures from that point was awful, as she kept worrying about the worst case scenario and began obsessing over other freckles on her face. She was '40 and single with skin cancer', she said, and it was making her neurotic.

Protective: Melanie is now cancer-free and being more careful about slathering her skin with sunscreen

And then, finally, she had surgery - and it turned out OK. Her scar is not at all Harry Potter-esque, her face and eyebrows are even, and she is now cancer-free.

She does have a one-inch scar on her forehead, and she was a bit swollen after the procedure, but she explains that she was was 'exceptionally lucky', as the cancer had been caught early and it was only in the first layer of skin.

While Melanie won't have to endure chemotherapy, she does face a 40 per cent chance of developing another Basal Cell Carcinoma. So she's being more careful than ever. She'll never forget to wear sunscreen again, and she's planning to stock up on a few floppy hats. She'll also need regular check-ups.

'But I couldn't have been luckier,' she said, noting that it's currently estimated that one in five people will get skin cancer in their lifetime, and it can sometimes be deadly. She added: 'My scar is my new good luck charm. Reminding me, every time I look in the mirror, of how fortuitous I was.'