John Cena was diagnosed with skin cancer twice

John Cena has been diagnosed with skin cancer twice in the past. The WWE legend admitted that he "never" used to wear sunscreen after moving to Florida in his early 20s and put his health at risk by "neglecting" his skin.

John told PEOPLE magazine: "I was stubborn. I didn't want to have a routine, and I also thought the problem would never reach me. And it's one of those things where I had a ton of exposure with minimal protection, and it caught up with me."

© Randy Holmes

The 47-year-old star, who is preparing to retire from WWE at the end of the year, only changed his attitude when a "cancerous spot" was discovered on his body.

Cena revealed: "It wasn't until I went to a dermatologist and got a skin checkup and had a cancerous spot removed from my right pec."

The 'Fast X' actor returned to have "another spot removed" the following year and told eagle-eyed WWE fans that they would be able to see the scars if they looked closely.

John said: "A year later, I went back and had another spot removed close to my right shoulder. 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."

© WWE

Cena admits that he was fortunate to have a "great dermatologist" who guided him through the daunting process.

He recalled: "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."

"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."

© Kevin Winter

"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." The wrestler now makes sure to protect his skin with sunscreen after surviving the two scares.

John said: "I'm at a great space in my life where that's now important to me. And I'm so grateful to be able to dodge those two bullets, but I wear them as a reminder of, 'Hey man, you need to take the extra few seconds to protect yourself every day'."