Married At First Sight expert Mel Schilling has shared that she was diagnosed with colon cancer.
The 51-year-old psychologist and dating coach took to Instagram on Wednesday morning with a photo in which she can be seen hugging her husband Gareth Brisbane and their daughter Madison.
“‘You have cancer.’ Three little words that everyone dreads but no one ever expects to hear,” she wrote in the caption.
“Last Thursday my consultant told me those three 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,” she explained.
“I saw my GP in Sydney and he put it down to constipation, gave me some laxatives and sent me on my way.”
She added that she knew her condition was serious and so she went for a scan when she travelled to the UK. Schilling appears on the British and Australian versions of MAFS.
“This week I had planned to travel to Northern Ireland with my family to spend Christmas with loved ones,” she wrote.
“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.”
She added: “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.”
Mel Schilling with her family. (Instagram: Mel Schilling)
Mel Schilling is a beloved member of the MAFS fam who has been an expert on the Aussie version since 2019.
Sending love to Mel and her fam. <3
