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General Hospital Star Opens Up About His Cancer Scare: ‘My Mental Health Has Been Really Challenged’
Monday, September 28th, 2020

General Hospital actor advocates for skin health.
Mark Lawson, who plays Dustin Phillips on General Hospital (formerly Brody Lovett on One Life to Live) recently opened up on Instagram about a skin cancer scare. In the first post he shared a delicious stack of fresh backed crumpets saying, “When you can’t train for two weeks (one to go!) because you had a mole removed, you start to go a little crazy. So we made these to keep the demons back.” Fans literally ate the delicious photo up, asking him to share his recipe, and noting how comforting baking can be. However, some became concerned about the mole removal.
In a second post just after a workout, Lawson wrote, “Quick explanation for why I’ve been quiet the last week or so.” In the accompanying video, he addressed his lack of workouts recently due to having a suspicious chicken nugget sized mole removed from his mid to lower back. He used his experience to advise everyone to get their skin checked. The experience also made him realize how as a trainer he focuses on helping people train to help modulate their mental health, and the fact that he hasn’t been able to train on the level he would like had really challenged his own mental health, which has been all over the place. Fortunately, in a few days, he will have the stitches removed and will be back at it and sharing his training advice for those who follow him. As for the mole, he revealed, “All good! Mole is removed and all abnormal cells gone! Just can’t wait to throw down the way I normally do! Also becomes apparent that having multiple modes of mental health care is really important! Stay Soapy! Stay Safe!”
More: Kim Delaney’s General Hospital Role revealed
Skin cancer is the growth of abnormal cells in the epidermis, the outermost skin layer, caused by unrepaired DNA damage that triggers mutations. The main types of skin cancer are basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma and Merkel cell carcinoma. Finding a melanoma at an early stage is crucial, and early detection vastly increases the chance of removal and recovery. It’s advised that individuals regularly check themselves for any suspicious moles or spots. Melanomas commonly appear on the legs of women, and the trunks of men. Consult a dermatologist should you notice any suspicious mole.
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<p>Social distancing must have been <em>especially</em> challenging for former <em>General Hospital</em> castmates Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson. They tended to be so securely joined at the hip, not even a surgeon could separate them! In addition to co-starring as Jason and Spinelli — Burton is now Harris on <em>Days of Our Lives</em> — they make appearances around the country together, co-host the <em>That’s Awesome</em> podcast, play <em>7 Questions</em> with their pals on YouTube and harmonized in the cover band Port Chuck.</p>
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<p>Twitter becomes a virtual comedy club anytime <em>General Hospital</em> funnymen William deVry (ex-Julian) and James Patrick Stuart (Valentin) get started! They delight in ribbing one another, and their back-to-work post-shutdown photo challenge — in which they modeled increasingly hilarious new hairdos — remains the stuff of legend. (If you missed it, <a href="https://soaps.sheknows.com/general-hospital/news/572528/general-hospital-william-devry-james-patrick-stuart-hair/" target="_blank">our article will catch you right up</a>.)</p>
<p>When James Patrick Stuart was cast as Will Cortlandt on <em>All My Children</em> in 1989, he got more than a part, he got a best friend in Michael E. Knight (Tad). So needless to say, Stuart was beyond elated when his buddy checked in to <em>General Hospital</em> — and as his lawyer, Martin, no less! — in 2019. Now, once again, they can <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CAEJhKqn0N4/" target="_blank">“act like the fools we are,”</a> said Stuart, who often calls Knight Mikey and loves to pretend he’s got him mixed up with Michael Knight, the character that David Hasselhoff played on <em>Knight Rider.</em></p>
<p><em>General Hospital</em> leading man Maurice Benard (Sonny) has a sterling reputation as a mentor to the ABC soap’s younger cast members. But his relationship with former on-screen right-hand man Steve Burton (Jason) went far deeper than that; they forged the sort of friendship that lasts a lifetime. So when Burton returned to the show after a stint as Dylan on <em>The Young and the Restless</em>, it was like when “your best friend in high school… leaves to go to another school ’cause his mom has to move,” Benard told <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl37aX2o_Q8&list=PL5XH-PgUVEWnMIu8CHzjFQQFM5ByJqt6K&index=9&t=0s" target="_blank"><em>Access</em></a> in 2018. “Then he comes back, and senior year, you’re back together.”</p>
<p>Friendship isn’t supposed to feel like work. But it’s probably OK if it feels, as it often has for Josh Swickard (Chase, <em>General Hospital</em>) and Michael Mealor (Kyle, <em>The Young and the Restless</em>), like a workout. We “really need a hobby,” Mealor captioned a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BjfbX_aA9t_/" target="_blank">post-gym photo</a>, “that doesn’t involve sweating and being exhausted.” All kidding aside, the guys are so tight that they’ve been known to call each other brothers.</p>
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<p>Rare is the <em>General Hospital</em> star who can bring out Maurice Benard’s silly side the way that Marcus Coloma does. Nikolas’ portrayer and Sonny’s often tag-team Instagram, performing skits that are ROFL funny. And their 2022 dance-off was the stuff of viral sensations. (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck9sNP1JHze/" target="_blank">You can watch it here.</a>) “I wasn’t ready for this video,” laughed Kirsten Storms (Maxie). “We’re recreating this immediately,” Tabyana Ali (Trina) told Avery Kristen Pohl (Esme).</p>
<p>Some soap bromances, sadly, come to an end when one of the bros leaves their soap. But not the one that blossomed between <em>The Young and the Restless</em>’ Joshua Morrow (Nick) and Eddie Cibrian (ex-Matt). In fact, it wasn’t until <em>after</em> Cibrian’s stay in Genoa City was over and done that he and his pal, along with CJ Huyer, began releasing music as 3Deep. Why they called themselves a boy band, though, Morrow <em>still</em> doesn’t know, he recently admitted “’cause we didn’t play anything!”</p>

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