In September 2021, Merlin Griffiths – known as the mixologist on the TV show First Dates – was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer. On Wednesday, September 28, 2022, the 47-year-old said he was “on the road to recovery”. Griffiths said about his recovery: “It’s long and slow, but we will get there.”
In the live interview on BBC Breakfast, Griffiths reflected that he should have seen his doctor earlier.
“I should have got there earlier, I will be completely honest,” Griffiths began.
While his tumour treatment has been “effective”, Griffiths urges people to alert their doctor if they are suffering from cancer symptoms.
“Most times, it probably isn’t cancer. It’s going to be something different,” Griffiths assured. “But I think the sooner you catch it, the better it is for you.”
Griffiths said his family has been his “rock” during this difficult period of his life.
“Without the support of my family, what could I have done?” he queries.
Opening up about the moment he told his young daughter, Alix, about his cancer diagnosis, the father-of-one said he done it “very frankly and very honestly”.
Not even in her teenage years, Alix learned about her dad’s diagnosis in a “clear and unambiguous” way.
“You literally just have to say the truth as it is,” Griffiths emphasised.
Sitting next to Griffiths on the show was former rugby union star Matt Dawson, who is a Bowel Cancer UK patron.
“Unfortunately, bowel cancer is prevalent in my family,” Dawson stated.
“My grandfather passed away from it… my mother had it in around 2007, but got through it because, like Merlin, got in there relatively early.”
Dawson made clear that his mum knowing the symptoms and signs of bowel cancer were “crucial” to her cancer survival.
“There are early signs,” Dawson added. “It’s not a dinner conversation right now.”
“Colonoscopies are nothing to be scared of,” Griffiths quipped in, regarding the testing protocol for bowel cancer.
The chief executive of Bowel Cancer UK, Genevieve Edwards, pointed out that “back in March, 45 percent of people couldn’t name a single symptom” of bowel cancer.
While Edwards is pleased that more people are aware of bowel cancer symptoms nowadays, she says its the charity’s job to make sure “it doesn’t slip into the shadows”.
“If you are diagnosed really early with bowel cancer, most people will survive it.”
Bowel cancer symptoms
“What’s right for you and what’s normal for you might be different for me,” Edwards said.
“First of all, get to know your normal… check your poo, it’s a great place to start.”
Symptoms
- A persistent change in bowel habit – pooing more often, with looser, runnier poos and sometimes tummy (abdominal) pain
- Blood in the poo without other symptoms of piles (haemorrhoids) – this makes it unlikely the cause is haemorrhoids
- Abdominal pain, discomfort or bloating always brought on by eating – sometimes resulting in a reduction in the amount of food eaten and weight loss
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