MasterChef finalist issues urgent plea after noticing something was VERY wrong while competing on the show
Former MasterChef Australia finalist Rhiannon Anderson has urged Aussies to pay attention to their health after having a ‘melon-sized’ tumor removed from her stomach.
The mother-of-five revealed she had the huge benign fibroid removed during a grueling operation six months ago after noticing something was wrong during season 15 of Ten, the 2023 reality cook-off.
The 47-year-old, from Townsville in far north Queensland, revealed she had also undergone a hysterectomy.
In a heartfelt update about her health struggles on Instagram, Ms Anderson shared a graphic image of the large tumor doctors removed from her body on Tuesday.
In another photo, Ms. Anderson lay in a hospital bed as she smiled at the camera.
“This year has been the hardest of my life in relation to my health,” she wrote.
‘I spend so much time encouraging women to look for signals in their bodies that are wrong, but I have chosen to ignore my own problems because I am ‘too busy’!?
Ms Anderson, (pictured) 47, took to Instagram on Tuesday to upload an honest post about how she had neglected her own health and urged others not to do the same
‘To say I’m disappointed in myself is an understatement.’
The talented chef found herself struggling to fit into her jeans while filming on MasterChef.
‘When I lay down, I felt something in my stomach and I thought, “Oh, that’s weird.” It was a bit like I was pregnant, but there was no baby,” Ms Anderson said Townsville Bulletin.
‘When I was on MasterChef, I would get ready in the morning and put on my jeans because it went straight over [the tumour]It would actually make me quite sick.”
After coming second behind winner Brent Draper, Ms Anderson said she went for an ultrasound in August 2023.
The ultrasound detected a large fibroid, but Ms Anderson said she was so overwhelmed with her work that she failed to notice the size of the tumor as it continued to grow.
Ms Anderson, an ovarian cancer ambassador, said that some time later she told prominent obstetrician and gynecologist Dr Sally Aubrey that she had a fibroid.
Mrs Anderson (pictured) she was so busy she forgot to notice the size of the tumor as it continued to grow after she had an ultrasound scan which detected the fibroid
The conversation prompted her to mark six weeks in her calendar to book the surgery.
“She (Dr. Aubrey) told me we all knew it was going to be big one day [the surgeons] When they walked in, they said, “Oh my God, this is a lot bigger than we thought,” Ms. Anderson said.
On the plus side, her health has slowly improved since the surgery last year.
‘I still have a lot of swelling and pain, but [I] I can continue most of my daily activities,” she wrote in the social media post.
Dozens of commenters praised Ms. Anderson for revealing the details of her terrifying health battle.
“Thank you for your honesty, sharing, courage, empathy for others and a teaching moment for us to learn from you,” one person wrote.
“Thanks for sharing, if this encourages just one person to get checked it was definitely worth it,” wrote another.
‘You are a force! Thanks for sharing. I’m going to get examined!’ a third added.
Others expressed relief that Ms Anderson had recovered from her surgery.
The talented chef (pictured) noticed something was wrong while competing during season 15 of the hit Channel 10 reality TV show in 2023
‘Oooft, that’s quite a growth. I’m glad you’re… on the mend!,” one person wrote.
‘What a huge operation and recovery that would have been. I’m glad to hear you’re doing well,” someone else said.
Some were stunned by the size of the overgrown fibroid.
“I can’t believe that was inside you!” I can only imagine the pressure and pain that would have caused,” one person wrote.