John Cena never thought it would happen to him. But then he got the call — twice. The spots on his skin were cancerous.
Cena’s first skin spot was discovered on his left pectoral muscle during a routine visit to the dermatologist. It was promptly removed and sent for testing. His second spot was noticed a year later on his left upper trapezius muscle.
“I received the phone call twice, ‘Hey, you’ve got to come back, because the biopsy came back cancerous,’” Cena recalls. “That information is sobering, and it right there prompted me to change my life.”
The 17-time WWE world champion, who is now the face of the new Neutrogena campaign for Ultra Sheer Mineral Face Liquid Sunscreen SPF 70, says he had always “neglected” SPF. But he quickly integrated applying sunscreen into his daily routine, calling it his way of showing “gratitude” after his cancer scare.
“Skincare is a more palatable and accepted term and subject matter amongst women,” he says. Discussions between men can be more difficult to initiate. But it doesn’t have to be that way, he argues. “Men especially, are becoming more conscious of self-care… I just think we need to make it more commonplace.”
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Cena wants to close the ‘gender gap’ in SPF usage
Women are more than twice as likely as men to wear sunscreen, but by age 50, men are at a greater risk of melanoma than women. And at any age, men are more likely to die from melanoma than women, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.
Only 12.3% of men – compared to 29.0% of women – aged 18 years or older always used sunscreen when outside on a sunny day for more than 1 hour in 2020, according to the CDC. The lowest percentage of men who always used sunscreen was among those aged 18-29 years (8.2%); that rate rose to 13.7% among men aged 30-44.
Data from a 2025 survey conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Neutrogena, with a sample of 500 Hispanic Americans and 500 general population Americans split evenly by generation, found that nearly a third of respondents never visit a dermatologist or health professional for skin-related checkups, and women were more likely to be advised to wear SPF every day as opposed to men (27% vs. 18%).
“SPF is more common in the vernacular of women, and that’s because it is directly correlated with beauty,” Cena says.
More young people are getting cancer
Many young celebrities have recently announced they have (or had) cancer. James Van Der Beek. Jenna Fischer. Olivia Munn. Princess Kate. Elle Macpherson. The list goes on.
There’s no exact cause known for the rise in cancers among young people, according to experts, but researchers are trying to figure it out. But as a silver lining, people have been less likely to die from cancer over the last few decades despite the increasing incidence rate.
For those worried about their own risk – wearing SPF is a good place to start. Regular use of SPF 15 sunscreen can reduce your risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) by about 40 percent, and lower your melanoma risk by 50 percent, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.
John Cena’s final advice for men
He doesn’t care why someone is prompted to use SPF – whether it be for beauty or health – just so long as they use it.
“If someone uses SPF, because they don’t want to get wrinkles, it’s like someone going to the gym saying, ‘I want to be ripped.’ But being ‘ripped’ is essentially making healthier choices,” he explains. “So you can go to the gym for aesthetic purposes, but the reward of training goes far more than just aesthetic beauty. I think SPF is in the same lane.”
Cena knows that people need to be “proactive enough” to make substantial changes to their routine, but says it’s “super easy” to be more conscious of your skin.
“I’ve done some pretty aspirational things in the strength and health department, as far as nutritional choices and training regimens, and that’s really complicated, difficult stuff,” he says. But wearing SPF is just like “brushing your teeth.”
His vision for the future is for men to start keeping a tube of sunscreen right next to their toothpaste — and remember to use it daily.
“My perspective on life has changed, but it took some real sobering news,” he says. “I don’t want anybody to get there, so I’m just trying to use my platform to get ahead of that one.”
Contributing: David Oliver
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: John Cena was shocked by his skin cancer. He has a message.
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