Mel Schilling has once again warned about the cancer symptoms she experienced while on set for the upcoming season of Married At First Sight Australia.
The relationship expert, 52, revealed last month she’d been diagnosed with colon cancer and has previously explained how she’d initially ignored the shock warning signs.
Speaking with Yahoo Lifestyle, Mel detailed the pain she experienced while filming the reunion dinner party for Season 11, which premieres Monday, January 29 on Channel Nine.
Her pain was so bad she can ‘barely remember’ the shoot, which will air a few months after the premiere.
‘I was doubled over in pain and then during the whole reunion shoot, I was just trying to smile through the pain and just get through it,’ she told the outlet.
‘I didn’t know what it was, I thought it was jet lag. I really did. I just thought I’m working too hard, it’s the travel, I’m just not taking care of myself. I really didn’t think it was anything else.’
Mel, who appears on the British and Australian versions of the show, echoed her experiences in a recent interview and revealed she was already back at work weeks after undergoing surgery.
Speaking on British chat show This Morning about her diagnosis, she said: ‘I was ignoring the signs for such a long time, my energy had dropped and I was doubled over and shouting in pain.
‘I was doing a lot of international travel so I blamed it on the travel. In my mind I had a busy year and I thought I could rest in December.’
Mel eventually went to a GP in Australia who thought she had constipation, but she went to a specialist after returning to the UK after being unable to keep water down.
The specialist pinpointed she had colon cancer right away and, in helping to keep her spirits up, Mel has named her tumor ‘Terry’.
The star added she is lucky she caught the tumour early but noted she could never feel it.
She said: ‘It’s a good news story. It has been tough but it was early intervention. It could have been different had I waited a month later.’
When she made the announcement, Mel posted a photo of herself hugging her husband Gareth Brisbane, 51, and their daughter Madison, eight, alongside the caption: ‘”You have cancer.” Three little words that everyone dreads but no one ever expects to hear.
‘Last Thursday my consultant told me those three words.’
Mel said she was diagnosed just one month after she began to feel pain in her stomach while filming MAFS Australia’s upcoming eleventh season.
‘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.’
Despite her doctor’s initial assessment, Schilling said she knew her condition was more serious and booked herself a scan when she travelled to the UK.
‘On Thursday I was told I had colon cancer and in an instant my whole life changed,’ she wrote.
Despite her heartbreaking situation, Mel said she feels ‘incredibly blessed’ her cancer is ‘relatively easy to eradicate’.
‘I’m expected to make a full recovery though it’s a rough road ahead,’ she wrote, adding: ‘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.’
Mel concluded her post by encouraging her social media followers to seek medical advice whenever something feels off.
‘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.’
Common symptoms of colon cancer include a change in bowel habits, rectal bleeding, anal or rectal pain, lumps, unexpected weight loss, fatigue and anaemia.
Doctors recommend that people with an average risk of the cancer start screening at around age 45.
Those with a higher risk should start screening earlier.
Colon cancer treatment usually involves surgical removal of the cancer.
Other treatments like radiation therapy and chemotherapy may be recommended, depending on the location and stage of the cancer.
In addition to the UK version of MAFS, Mel will soon return to screens alongside fellow experts John Aiken and Alessandra Rampolla for the eleventh season of the Aussie version of the hit dating show.