Merlin Griffiths, the star of First Dates, has given a ‘out of surgery’ update with fans after having his stoma removed.
The 47-year-old was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2021 and has been having treatment and spreading awareness since then.
He was diagnosed with stage three cancer after a 4.5cm tumour in his bowel was discovered, and he has been on the mend ever since.
Merlin had surgery in April of last year, but suffered a relapse in September and revealed on Monday that he was nearing the end of his cancer treatment.
Merlin captioned a photo of himself in his hospital bed after surgery, ‘Ouch. It’s time for a snooze. After the surgery, tomorrow is a fresh day.
‘When I fart properly, things start happening!’ I’m hoping it’s soon since I’m starving….’
He continued: ‘Feels weird looking down and not seeing a #Stoma.
‘My hand keeps feeling for my bag to see how full it is, and coming up empty!!’
Merlin went on to thank the NHS for their assistance before announcing that his teddy bear (who appears in several of his hospital selfies) is now being delivered to a youngster with a stoma.
Earlier on Monday, the First Dates barman had shared: ‘Checked in (with the bear of course) and ready to go.’
‘Here’s to the final phase of treatment and recovery.’
What is a stoma?
A stoma is where the end of the bowel is brought to the outer surface of the abdomen to release waste into a stoma bag.
This can happen for many reasons – often because of diseases such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, two forms of inflammatory bowel disease, but also for conditions such as bowel cancer.
Merlin’s post was inundated with support, with one person writing: ‘Wishing you a speedy recovery, keep pushing mate, your doing amazing! Cant wait to see you on our screens behind the bar doing an amazing job as always x’.
Another penned: ‘Great to see you and the updates you are sharing I was diagnosed 2weeks before Christmas with bowel cancer and go into hospital tomorrow for my op I don’t feel so worried now you have posted this’.
First Dates is available to watch on All4.
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