Julie Stewart-Binks Discusses Skin Cancer Surgery and Recovery

Sports broadcaster Julie Stewart-Binks recently took to social media to discuss a two-week absence from her hosting and reporting duties due to surgery for skin cancer.

Stewart-Binks, known for her work on SNY's Honda SportsNite and as a rink-side reporter for professional hockey, explained that she underwent Mohs surgery to remove squamous cell carcinoma from her nose. The procedure involved grafting skin from her ear to reconstruct the area.

"I thought it was a pimple that wouldn’t go away, turns out it was cancer," Stewart-Binks wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter), sharing her experience to encourage others to seek medical attention if they notice concerning changes in their skin. "I share this so that hopefully it inspires others to get checked is something feels/looks off."

She described the experience as a unique one, noting, "The cool part about this, is not only did they remove all the cancerous cells, but they grafted part of my ear 👂🔪👃 onto my nose. I’ve played hockey my entire life, but never felt more like a hockey player than I do now. Sew me up and put me in coach."

Stewart-Binks shared updates on her recovery, including photos of her bandaged face, through Instagram posts. She reflected on the experience of recovering alone, stating, "As someone who spends almost 24 hours a day alone, I have really been able to get to know myself – you can be both grateful you had skin cancer removed, and also depressed dealing with it."

She also mentioned the difficulty of accepting help when living alone. "People are so kind to offer help or if you need anything to reach out, but when you live alone it’s like ‘do you want to come over for anywhere from 20 minutes to 7 hours in case something inconveniencing happens?’"

By Wednesday, Stewart-Binks reported feeling significantly better, though not entirely back to her usual self. She was seen attending an event for Stanley 1913 and TOGETHXR in Brooklyn, celebrating women's sports during the WNBA playoffs, and shared a photo of herself wearing a Gotham FC hat.

Earlier in the year, Stewart-Binks, who is from Toronto, covered the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics for CBC, Canada Broadcasting Corporation.