Below Deck Down Under’s Captain Jason Chambers is opening up about a recent health scare.
In a video shared via Instagram on Monday, December 16, the reality television star revealed that a recent biopsy he had was confirmed to be melanoma, a type of skin cancer.
“I’m in Australia and that was done in Bali,” Captain Jason, 52, explained in the video. “The Australian doctors here, they weren’t happy with what the indications told them to go to stage 2, which would be to cut out a bigger section and test the glands. So I’m waiting for the specimen to come from Bali, so it’ll be here this week, but I may not get it till after Christmas.”
The Australian star encouraged his fellow countrymen to be extra cautious as the weather gets hotter over the next few months.
“Two out of three people suffer from melanoma. It’s a big thing. We’ve got a heatwave coming this summer, so make sure you put a hat on,” he said, noting that he never used to wear sunscreen but has now found chemical-free products. “Make sure you throw on some sunscreen, get some shade and cover yourself up.”
In the caption of his post, Captain Jason added, “For someone that spent their life in the sun, as a child playing sport to working on the ocean, I thought I was resistant to the damaging effects of the sun. I love the sun and its health benefits are evident, but be wise and like everything in life, it’s all about balance, choose your battles.”
“With a diagnosed melanoma biopsy, I now have an anxious wait and what I thought was a skin spot turned in just 6 months, early detection is the key,” he continued.
The post concluded, “So find a chemical free sunscreen product, get some shade with a hat and enjoy the sun with protection.”
Captain Jason has been at the helm of Below Deck Down Under, which airs on Peacock, for two seasons. A third season has already been filmed.
“Season 3 has been filmed. I just know it’s in edits at the moment, but it has been filmed and I can confirm that,” Jason exclusively told Us Weekly in September. “The most information out so far is that it has been confirmed.”
Season 2 of Below Deck Down Under, which aired in 2023, made headlines when ship bosun Luke Jones was filmed getting into bed naked with stewardess Margot Sisson, who at the time was passed out after an alcohol-fueled crew night out. After a cameraman intervened, producers made Luke leave the boat and he was moved to a hotel for the night. Jason ultimately terminated Luke and let stewardess Laura Bileskaline go after she blamed Margot for his exit.
The captain told Us that the scandal surrounding season 2 led to some big changes being implemented while shooting the new season.
“There were changes for sure. I know that the policies and procedures were in place during the previous seasons, even when that happened. When production stepped in and stopped it, that showed that these policies and procedures were very understood,” Jason noted. “Now for the next season, the policies and procedures weren’t just controlled by the production team itself. They actually brought additional HR people to actually make sure that the black and white writing was understood by all.”
