Actor Ewan McGregor attempted to deal with his recent basal cell carcinoma diagnosis quietly, but word quickly got out to the media that he was battling full-blown cancer.

The Scottish actor, known for his roles in the Star Wars series, Black Hawk Down, Trainspotting and Moulin Rouge, insists that although cancer is a horrible, deadly disease, his case was mild and he should not be considered a “survivor” like others.

McGregor says, “It is scary when you hear you’ve got cancer. I quickly discovered it’s a very common and treatable condition. I would hate to say I had a cancer scare, because it’s not fair to people who really have cancer scares. In my case, my mortality wasn’t called into question.”

Basal cell carcinoma, the type of cancer McGregor was diagnosed with, is the most common form of skin cancer. It is rarely life-threatening and almost never spreads, but if left untreated, can be disfiguring (especially to the eye, ear, nose and lip regions) and cause massive bleeding.

McGregor has been in production on several films, including I Love You Phillip Morris, co-starring Jim Carrey, and The Da Vinci Code sequel, Angels & Demons.

We wish him a healthy and speedy recovery!