First Dates bartender Merlin Griffiths has revealed he will ‘never be the same again’ due to his diagnosis which followed his successful cancer treatment.
The Channel 4 star has been open about his health battles since being diagnosed with cancer in September 2021, and he underwent surgery to get his tumour removed in April last year.
In January Merlin revealed he’d been diagnosed with another condition, Low Anterior Resection Syndrome, which is a change in bowel habits that can occur after surgery for rectal cancer.
Now he’s shared another health update seven months on, and revealed that he will never be the same again.
Opening up to The Daily Star, he said: ‘So we’re two years in with no evidence of disease, as they call it, neg, and that’s good. So yeah, I’m currently just learning to slowly get back to things.
‘It’s left me with a condition called low anterior resection syndrome. It’s a relatively new condition that’s being acknowledged these days in relation to my particular operation for bowel cancer, and I’m learning to manage it.
‘I’ll never quite be the same again, but I’m here. Slowly but surely, we’ll get back to a new normal… I think part of me is still processing it all but you just have to keep going.’
In January, Merlin revealed the new diagnosis, saying: ‘We live with it, we move forward. The main thing is, one is alive and able to smile and able to work at the bar in the restaurant.’
He added he now has a new appreciation of life, saying: ‘It does and it doesn’t, it’s an experience one parks and you draw upon it when you need it.’
When Merlin first announced his diagnosis, he explained that he was maintaining a ‘positive outlook’, but admitted that he has a ‘morbid sense of humour’.
Merlin’s cancer was stage three by the time he saw a doctor, as he previously admitted it was his ‘typical male reticence’ that stopped him from booking an appointment.
‘I tried to convince myself that the pain just wasn’t important,’ he shared.
He continued to The Sun: ‘I managed to pull the wool over my own eyes for a worryingly long time.’
Merlin urged anyone with concerns to ‘tackle the issues’, saying they should ‘not be embarrassed’.
‘Believe me, doctors have seen it all – I should know.’
The 22nd series of beloved match-making show First Dates will hit our screens on Tuesday 6th August 2024 at 10pm, and Merlin will be returning to his post behind the bar.
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Following its first episode, First Dates will air every Tuesday night at 10pm.