Married at First Sight star Mel Schilling diagnosed with cancer and says she faces a ‘rough road ahead’
MARRIED at First Sight expert Mel Schilling has revealed she’s been diagnosed with cancer.
The 51-year-old was given the devastating news after suffering severe stomach cramps while filming the latest Australian series.
Weeks later she was told she has colon cancer and is undergoing surgery on Wednesday to remove a 5cm tumour.
Doctors say Mel is expected to “make a full recovery”, but has been warned of a “rough road ahead”.
Writing on Instagram alongside a picture of her cuddling her husband and daughter, Mel said: “’YOU HAVE CANCER’. Three little words that everyone dreads but no one ever expects to hear. Last Thursday my consultant told me those 3 words.
“About a month ago when I was filming in Australia I developed severe stomach cramps on set, I put it down to all the travel I’d been doing and the upset it caused to my system.
“I saw my GP in Sydney and he put it down to constipation, gave me some laxatives and sent me on my way. Fortunately I knew something still wasn’t right so I booked in for a scan when I returned to the UK.
“On Thursday I was told I had colon cancer and in an instant my whole life changed.”
Mel – who has starred on MAFS since 2019 – continued: “John Lennon famously said that life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans, how right he was.
“This week I had planned to travel to Northern Ireland with my family to spend Christmas with loved ones. Instead tomorrow morning I’m checking in to hospital to have an operation to remove a 5cm tumour in my colon, a tumour that had it gone undetected for much longer would have killed me.
“Despite this I feel incredibly blessed that it’s a cancer that is relatively easy to eradicate, I’m expected to make a full recovery though it’s a rough road ahead.
“I also feel so lucky to have an incredible support network around me, both personally and professionally, my own family and my TV family have been amazing this past few days.
“It will be so tough to spend Xmas Day in hospital instead of being surrounded by family but getting rid of Terry (what I’ve named my tumour) will be the best present of all.
“I just wanted to finish by saying that if something doesn’t feel right, please, please don’t ignore it and if you don’t think the answers you have got are right, keep going until you do, it might just save your life.”