Married at First Sight dating expert Mel Schilling has shared a hopeful update on her battle with cancer, which she was diagnosed with over a year ago.
The reality star, one of three relationship experts on the UK version of E4’s hit show, underwent a form of keyhole surgery at a London-based hospital in December 2023 to remove a tumour after she was diagnosed with colon cancer.
Since her diagnosis, Schilling, who is an ambassador for colorectal charity Occtopus, The Oxford Colon Cancer Trust, kept her followers informed throughout her treatment.
Appearing on ITV's Lorraine on Monday, the 53-year-old revealed the uplifting news that she is now in remission - and also took the opportunity to raise awareness, urging viewers to recognise the signs and symptoms of the disease.
Updating viewers on her health, she began: “I am doing well, the cancer is in remission.”
Adding: “Ahh, Lorraine it’s been a year… Christmas Eve last year, I just got out of hospital and I just made it home in time for Christmas. It was pretty grim.
“I was just feeling very grateful to be out of hospital, but still in a lot of pain and recovering. So fast forward a year to the Christmas we have just had, it was my first cold Christmas and we went crazy. We went Christmas crazy.”
The E4 star explained that she hadn’t been “paying attention” to her symptoms and discussed the moment she realised something was wrong.
She continued: “I think one of the big issues that came out of this for me is that I wasn’t listening to my body. I was just full speed ahead, doing my job, travelling the world, doing my thing and living my best life, but all of these symptoms were happening in my body and I wasn’t paying attention.
“There was pain, there was constipation. I hadn’t been to the toilet in three weeks by the time it became acute, and I somehow managed to ignore that.”
Schilling went on to share her thoughts on why women often overlook symptoms, especially when the medical community can dismiss their pain.
She explained: “Particularly as women, if we have symptoms in the abdominal region generally we say ‘I’ve got to toughen up - that’s something to do with my cycle’ or ‘It’s a hormonal issue’ and we’ve grown up knowing every month we have pain and we just have to get on with it.
“So we have that tendency to grin and bear it and I think there is a flow there to the medical profession where they are very quick to dismiss a woman with pain.”
Offering advice to those who are experiencing similar symptoms, she added: “It’s not an old person's disease anymore. It used to be thought of that way but I’ve been flooded with messages from people in their twenties and thirties who have said ‘I’ve had the same diagnosis as you Mel’ or ‘I’m having similar symptoms. Thanks for the nudge, I’m going to get it checked out.’
“So I think my message is, if you’re having symptoms, if you’re noticing a change in your bowel habits, let’s not be scared to talk about it anymore - it’s just poo.”
If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at Macmillan Cancer Support.
