Male bravado meant I ignored cancer warning sign – don’t make my mistake, says First Dates star Merlin Griffiths
thesun.co.uk"PLEASE learn from my mistakes - get tested and don’t be embarrassed,” First Dates barman Merlin Griffiths, tells the Sun. Laughing down the phone, the Channel 4 star has lost none of that charm he radiates through our screens on the dating show - despite his grim diagnosis.
Merlin says: “You never really realise how common cancer is until it happens to you.” The 46-year-old bartender - who chats to the daters while they wait at the bar for their match in the hit show - was diagnosed with bowel cancer in August 2021.
Bowel cancer is the second deadliest form of the disease in the UK, claiming 16,000 lives every year. But, caught early it can be cured - and screening is a vital part in the early diagnosis puzzle.
read more on bowel cancerSIGNS THAT SAVE Eight easy cancer checks which may save your life - from breast to bowelMUM’S PRIDE Dame Deborah James' mum defied her advice & read final emotional book chapters After ignoring typical symptoms of the disease for several months, Merlin’s cancer had reached stage 3 by the time he saw doctors.
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