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Married At First Sight expert John Aiken has paid a heartfelt tribute to his co-star Mel Schilling, following her shock colon cancer diagnosis.
The relationship expert, 53, shared a gallery of precious photos to Instagram on Wednesday showing many of the special times he and Mel have shared.
One sweet photo showed the co-workers-turned-best mates posing up a storm on the MAFS set and another captured them rocking a red carpet event.
He captioned the gallery with some heartfelt words.
‘Sending love and prayers to Mel. Thinking of you and the fight ahead. We’re all in your corner,’ he wrote.
John’s words of support follow Mel’s heartbreaking reveal on Wednesday morning.
Married At First Sight expert John Aiken has paid a heartfelt tribute to his co-star Mel Schilling, following her shock colon cancer diagnosis. Both pictured
The psychologist and dating coach, 51, who appears on the British and Australian versions of the show, shared the tragic news in an Instagram post.
She 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.’
The relationship expert, 53, shared a gallery of precious photos to Instagram on Wednesday showing many of the special times he and Mel have shared
Schilling 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.’
He captioned the gallery with some heartfelt words: ‘Sending love and prayers to Mel. Thinking of you and the fight ahead. We’re all in your corner’
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.
Schilling confirmed she will check into hospital tomorrow to remove a 5cm tumour in her colon which, had it gone undetected for much longer, would have killed her.
She is spending Christmas Day in hospital while receiving treatment.
Despite her heartbreaking situation, Schilling 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.’
‘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,’ she added.
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 and those with a higher risk should start screening earlier.
Colon cancer treatment usually involves surgical removal of the cancer.
John’s words of support follow Mel’s heartbreaking reveal on Wednesday morning. The MAFS expert told her fans she had been diagnosed with colon cancer. She is pictured with her husband Gareth Brisbane and daughter Madison
