12:59 PM PT -- Once again, Richard Simmons is clarifying an alarming post regarding his health ... Wednesday afternoon he said the skin cancer incident "happened so many years ago," and he was only mentioning it to implore folks to have a doctor check out any spots or skin abnormalities.
Richard says they were able to fully remove his cancerous growth. As for causing the panic among his fans, he says ... "I guess I should be more careful about what I write about."
Richard Simmons is sparking concern for his well-being once again ... this time announcing he's been diagnosed with cancer.
The fitness guru says he got the skin cancer diagnosis after a recent visit to the dermatologist -- an appointment he made when he noticed a strange bump under his right eye that wouldn't go away.
Richard said Tuesday, in a Facebook post, his doctor removed the blemish, examined it and came back with a basal cell carcinoma diagnosis -- the most common form of skin cancer.
As the 75-year-old detailed it ... he was referred to a specialist, who did a procedure that involved burning his skin twice -- so all the cancer could be removed.
This is the second time Richard has sparked concern for his health this week. Remember, a couple days ago, he announced on Facebook that he was dying.
After countless fans posted messages of love and concern, Richard clarified he wasn't actually dying -- anymore than the rest of us -- and he apologized for causing any confusion.
He explained ... "Sorry many of you have gotten upset about my message today ... I am not dying. It was a message about saying how we should embrace every day that we have."
Richard has been interacting with his fans quite a bit in recent months -- quite a turnaround, considering he completely disappeared from the public back in 2014.
That fueled years of rumors about his well-being ... until 2022, when we dropped "TMZ Investigates: What Really Happened to Richard Simmons," detailing the real reasons he's pulled back from his adoring fans.
Most recently, he's also been posting a lot about Pauly Shore's planned biopic about his life -- a project Richard's not down with, but Pauly insists he's moving forward.
As for Richard's cancer diagnosis ... he says the doctor wasn't able to remove all the cancer, and he'll be going back for another round of treatment.