Married At First Sight’s Mel Schilling reveals she ‘ignored the signs’ of colon cancer and is already back at work weeks after undergoing surgery
Married At First Sight expert Mel Schilling has revealed she ‘ignored the signs of her bowel cancer’ and has returned to work weeks after surgery.
The TV star, 52, who appears on the British and Australian versions of the show, revealed she had colon cancer in an Instagram post on December 19.
Speaking about her diagnosis on This Morning on Tuesday, she said: ‘I ignored the signs for so long, my energy had dropped and I was doubled over and screaming in pain.
‘I traveled internationally a lot, so I blamed it on the travel. In my opinion, I have had a busy year and I thought I could rest for a while in December.’
Mel eventually went to a GP in Australia who thought she had constipation, but she saw a specialist after returning to Britain after being unable to keep fluids down.
Married At First Sight expert Mel Schilling has revealed she ‘ignored the signs of her bowel cancer’ and has returned to work weeks after surgery
The TV star, 52, who appears on the British and Australian versions of the show, revealed she had colon cancer in an Instagram post on December 19.
The specialist immediately diagnosed that she had colon cancer and to cheer her up, Mel named her tumor ‘Terry’.
The star added that she was lucky to catch the tumor early, but noted that she could never feel it.
She said: ‘It’s a good news story. It was difficult, but it was an early intervention. If I had waited a month later, things could have been different.β
When she made the announcement, Mel posted a photo of herself hugging her husband Gareth Brisbane, 51, and their daughter Madison, eight, alongside the caption: “You have cancer.” Three little words that everyone fears, but no one ever expects to hear.
‘Last Thursday my consultant told me those three words.’
Mel said she was diagnosed just a month after she started feeling pain in her stomach while filming the upcoming eleventh season of MAFS Australia.
‘About a month ago, while I was filming in Australia, I started having severe stomach cramps on set. βI put it down to all the traveling I did and the disruption it caused in my system,β she explained.
‘I saw my GP in Sydney and he put it down to constipation, gave me some laxatives and sent me away.’
She said: ‘I ignored the signals for so long, my energy was down and I was doubled over and screaming in pain.’
Mel eventually went to a GP in Australia who thought she had constipation, but after returning to Britain she went to a specialist who told her she had cancer.
She said: ‘It’s a good news story. It was difficult, but it was an early intervention. “It could have been different if I had waited a month later.”
Despite her doctor’s initial assessment, Schilling said she knew her condition was more serious and booked herself a scan when she traveled to Britain.
βOn Thursday I was diagnosed with colon cancer and in an instant my entire life changed,β she wrote.
Despite her heartbreaking situation, Mel says she feels “incredibly blessed” that her cancer is “relatively easy to eradicate.”
“I am expected to make a full recovery, although it is a difficult road,” she wrote, adding, “I also feel so fortunate to have an incredible support network around me, both personally and professionally, my own family and my TV family It’s been great the last few days.’
Mel concluded her post by encouraging her social media followers to seek medical advice when something doesn’t feel right.
‘I wanted to end by saying, if something doesn’t feel right, please don’t ignore it and if you don’t think the answers you have are right, keep going until you do, it just might save your life .’
Common symptoms of colon cancer include a change in bowel habits, rectal bleeding, anal or rectal pain, lumps, unexpected weight loss, fatigue, and anemia.
Doctors recommend that people with an average risk of cancer start screening around age 45.
Those at higher risk should start screening earlier.
Treatment for colon cancer usually involves surgical removal of the cancer.
Other treatments such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy may be recommended depending on the location and stage of the cancer.
In addition to the UK version of MAFS, Mel will soon return to screens alongside fellow experts John Aiken and Alessandra Rampolla for the eleventh season of the Australian version of the popular dating show.