Christie Brinkley Reveals Skin Cancer Diagnosis, Shares Surgery Photos

Christie Brinkley says she was diagnosed with a form of skin cancer, which docs detected early -- and they got it out of her too ... something she documented with graphic pics.

The former model shared some behind-the-scenes images of her health journey Wednesday -- posting photos of her in recovery after a procedure she underwent to remove basal cell Carcinoma ... which she says she's lucky to have had removed quickly.

Christie writes, "Doctors that removed the cancer and stitched me up to perfection like an haute couture Dior. The good news for you is that all of this can be avoided by being diligent with your sun protection!"

She goes on to say ... "I was lucky to find mine, because I was accompanying one of my daughters to HER check up.. The Doctor was looking at each freckle with a magnifying glass… it wasn’t my appointment so I wasn’t going to say anything but at the VERY end I asked if he could just look at a little tiny dot I could feel as I applied my foundation."

Christie says the doctor then suspected something was amiss with what she was showing and ordered a biopsy, and the next thing you know ... cancerous cells were discovered.

Like we said ... Christie posted photos of having the cancer removed from near her temple -- and let's just say they're very detailed and gory. So, not for the faint of heart.

FYI, an estimated 3.6 million cases of basal cell carcinoma are diagnosed each year, according to the Skin Care Foundation ... but the good news is that the cancer is curable if detected and treated early.