First Dates’ Merlin Griffiths breaks silence on his bowel cancer journey as he shares health update
FIRST DATES star Merlin Griffiths is encouraging millions of people to get cancer checks following his shock diagnosis last year.
The TV barman – who stars in cancer charity Maggie’s new exhibition Living Every Moment – tells The Sun after undergoing chemotherapy and two operations he is living with cancer.
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The 47-year-old star says: “That’s an important distinction to make. Just because you have an operation to remove the tumour doesn’t mean that all of a sudden you are cancer free.
“They used to call it remission, now they call it NED, which means no evidence of disease.
“So NED happens after five years for bowel cancer. Now it’s a five year ongoing process before they are willing to say alright, yeah, you’re about as safe as you can be.”
He adds: “From there you’ll still have more regular check ups than most and then it’s ten years, you’re off the list from ten years. That’s as far as it goes.
“If there’s no recurrence of disease after ten years, then you are technically cured.
“So it is living with cancer in that sense. You are left with statistics as well. You know, that while you may be feeling good inside and you do appreciate every moment, and live every moment as it were. At the same time, I mean in my case, it’s a 30 percent chance that it will rear its ugly head again in the next five years.
“So my disease free survival rate is 70 percent, more or less.”
Merlin ditched his First Dates uniform for a hammer and gloves in one snap from his Maggie’s campaign as he worked on renovations at his pub in Leicestershire.
The Channel 4 favourite enjoyed cuddles with his black cat on the grass and going for a bike ride around the countryside in other photos.
He says: “It means so much to me to be able to start doing that again. As the symptoms got worse, and I sort of knew what was happening, I tried. And knowing chemo was coming, I sort of tried to start getting myself back out on the bike.
“I could do a hundred miles at the drop of a hat on just one day out, and so I tried, but because of where the tumour is – you know it’s rectal cancer – suddenly you realise oh, that’s why it is so uncomfortable!”
What are the risk factors of bowel cancer?
You’re at greater risk of bowel cancer if you have one or more of the following risk factors:
- you’re aged over 50
- you have a strong family history of the disease
- a history of non-cancerous growths, known as polyps, in your bowel
- long-term inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis
- type 2 diabetes
- an unhealthy lifestyle – you smoke, are overweight or obese and do not get enough exercise
With a cheeky smile Merlin wriggled in his chair, adding: “I was the classic mammal, you know, middle aged man in lycra, sitting there, with this thing that weighs about, three kilos, thinking, this isn’t as comfy as I remember it!
“So that photo is brilliant for me. And that’s what this campaign is about, living every moment.
“We all look at cancer and talk in this language of ‘battle,’ and think of sick people and what have you. But the thing is, most of us who get diagnosed with cancer we live with it, we live through it, and we live beyond it.”
Merlin first went to his GP last year with symptoms but due to being under 50 and appearing otherwise healthy, his appointment with a gastroenterologist was booked for several months later.
Before then he was rushed to hospital with major symptoms and thankfully in A&E “they connected the dots”.
He says about the experience: “I didn’t expect to end up in A&E in excruciating pain, but there you go.”
He has since spent weeks at a time in hospital recovering from operations and had dozens of visits to complete chemo, which he finished in December last year.
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HIDDEN COST OF CANCER
Merlin said he backed Maggie’s campaign to also highlight cancer debt, which is a huge problem for patients and families already crippled by rising fuel and parking costs.
He says: “It rarely gets talked about. I’m lucky, in the sense that I own my business but my business took the hit of my inactivity. For instance for six weeks at the end of last year, I was in hospital every single day five days a week.
“The average (it costs cancer patients) is £540 a month extra. I’m out in Leicestershire, my local hospital is Coventry. Imagine driving there and back to get treated, all that petrol, parking charges at hospital, and then the cost to your family. For a lot of the treatments you’re not capable of driving, of operating heavy machinery! There is a cost, and a lifestyle adjustment.
“The guys at Maggie’s are there to sit down and hold your hand through it.”
His bosses at First Dates were also “amazing” and adjusted filming around his treatment to ensure he remained on screen.
His charm and cocktails have calmed the nerves of many singletons in the famous restaurant since joining the series in 2013.
So it might come as a surprise to learn Merlin hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol for years before he was diagnosed with cancer.
He says: “Yeah I didn’t (drink) for a long time. It would have been shortly before the first operation and I had a glass of wine and a pint of beer.
“I phoned the oncologist and said, ‘Listen, right now I’m just feeling like I could do with a bit of extra joy in my life. She said yeah it’s fine, go for it!”
It was something else that the rest of us take for granted that almost landed him back in hospital.
He adds: ”Diet wise, I have had to change things I suppose, it’s sort of low residue stuff I have to eat. I can enjoy a glass of wine, but I can’t enjoy a rare steak.
“Seriously, so I’ve come out of hospital a week after the operation, and obviously still a little bit worse for wear. But anyhow, we had a very, very, very, nice rib of beef, on the barbeque, in the french fashion, so super rare, but charred on the outside.
“It almost put me back in hospital again, I shouldn’t be eating stuff like that. But I couldn’t resist! Honestly I was drooling.”
Merlin’s future is looking very bright. He says his support network has been amazing, he’ll be back on First Dates and spin-off show First Dates Hotel when it returns, and he’s opening his second pub next year.
He has a stoma in his abdomen, which he said “saved my life” and more scans to follow before Christmas.
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He says: “I am quite happy to keep (the stoma) for the rest of my life, but touch wood I’ll be able to get it reversed before Christmas. I find out in the next couple of weeks, which is exciting.
“And then onto the next phase of recovery, which is adult potty training!”
Of First Dates, he hopes to continue on the show for years to come.
He says: “I do hope so, when there’s more filming. I’m happy to do it as long as they’ll have me. On First Dates Hotel we were just in France and Italy.
“It’s about the people, it always has been. Working on First Dates, everyone in the restaurant. It is home away from home. For decades, the same as Fred (Sirieix), we’re both hospitality professionals originally. What we do there, it’s not making telly, it’s hospitality.
“The moment one of our daters comes through the front door you are running a restaurant. That’s what you do. You make them feel comfy. You make them feel happy.”
