22 December 2023 , 11:22
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Married At First Sight dating coach Mel Schilling said the UK should be “proud” of NHS workers after she had keyhole surgery to remove a cancerous tumour in her colon.
The 51-year-old reality star, who is a relationship expert on both the UK and Australian version of the E4 show, said she is focused on getting out of hospital in time for Christmas following the surgery. On Friday she posted a photograph of herself with a thumb up to Instagram and said the tumour she nicknamed Terry is “toast.”
She wrote: “Terry, you are the weakest link…goodbye! So yesterday lunchtime I had keyhole surgery to remove my tumour (AKA Terry) and in the words of my amazing surgeon it couldn’t have gone any better!
“Crucially the cancer hadn’t spread to my abdominal cavity, which was our greatest fear but was entirely localized in my colon. Over the coming days I will discuss my treatment plan going forwards but suffice to say that Terry is toast!”
Mel underwent an operation to have a tumour removed (Instagram/ @mel_schilling1)
Mel Shilling in hoping to be home for Christmas (@mel_schilling1/Instagram)The reality star went on to say she has been “absolutely blown away” by the “countless messages of support” received. “I am so very touched and can honestly say it’s made a difference, so thank you all,” she said.
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“I also wanted to say that everyone in the UK should be incredibly proud of the people of the NHS. I’m not talking about the funding, the structure or the waiting lists, just the people. Everyone from my consultant to the surgical team and especially the wonderful nurses managing my recovery have been just superb.
“It’s not just their professionalism but also their genuine concern, bedside manner (especially the nurses) and their endlessly sunny disposition, despite working up to 14 hour days. I owe all of these wonderful people my life and I will be forever indebted to them.
“The NHS is a unique, precious institution we need to make sure it’s here to serve our children and our children’s children. Now, it’s time to focus on getting my ass out of here in time for Christmas.”
The dating coach and reality TV star revealed her cancer diagnosis in an Instagram post on Wednesday. She explained she had started to develop “severe stomach cramps on set” while filming in Australia and visited her GP in Sydney, who put it down to constipation and gave her some laxatives.
"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 explained she had originally planned to visit family in Northern Ireland with her husband and their daughter, but will now be checking into hospital for an operation on "a tumour that, had it gone undetected for much longer, would have killed me".
The Married At First Sight star continued: "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."
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