Red flag bowel cancer symptom First Dates' Merlin Griffiths ignored before devastating diagnosis
21.10.2023 - 16:03
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Star of Channel 4 First Dates Merlin Griffiths has spoken out on the red flag symptom he ignored before a devastating bowel cancer diagnosis. The 48-year-old, who rose to fame as the bar manager alongside Fred Siriex on First Dates, has spoken out in the hope of helping others, and wants to encourage people to normalise talking about their bowel movements.
Merlin was first diagnosed with the life threatening illness in September 2021. However, he says he believes he could have been diagnosed earlier, had he not ignored a red flag symptom.
Merlin has spoken about his tough journey since being diagnosed with a stage three bowel cancer, and said it has been 'long, painful and ugly'. After undergoing 18 months of intensive treatments and surgeries, he was given the 'all-clear' by medics in June.
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Merlin's early symptoms included a pain in his abdomen and changes to his bowel movements, but he delayed seeing a GP for months. "It was that typical male reticence thing of going, 'Oh, I'm fine, it's nothing really. I'll be alright'," he said at the time.
In an interview with the Express this week, Merlin spoke about his hesitance to book a doctor's appointment at the very beginning. "There is still a certain amount of classic British reserve in the way that we deal with a lot of health issues," he said. "And this one is particularly – it is in that area, isn't it?
"Because it's bowel cancer and in my case it was rectal cancer. So yeah, I've got to talk about a***s. I've got to talk about poo. I've