Cricket's Richie Benaud announces he has skin cancer

Cricket commentator Richie Benaud has announced he is receiving treatment for skin cancer on his forehead and top of his head.

Benaud, 84, credited a life of playing and watching cricket without a hat or sunscreen.

"(I'm) coping with it very well, the doctors are pleased," Benaud told 9NEWS.

"I'm going along slowly. The cancers need to be treated."

He is undergoing radiation therapy for the cancers.

Benaud used his profile to warn people against the dangers of the sun.

"When I was a kid we never, ever wore a cap. I wish I had. You live and learn as you go along," he said.

"I recommend to everyone they wear protection on their heads. Eighty-four-year-olds don't seem to mend as well as they used to."

He attended Channel Nine's season launch today, with the broadcast team comprising Bill Lawry, Ian Chappell, Mark Nicholas, Brett Lee and Shane Warne, among others.

He was last week inducted into the SCG Media Hall of Honour, along with 15 broadcasters and journalists.

Benaud has been away from the game since crashing his car on the way home from a golf game in October last year. He suffered a crushed sternum and crushed vertebrae.

For the full interview, tune into 9NEWS Sydney tonight, or watch online via www.9news.com.au/new-south-wales