A close call.
The Only Way Is Essex star Mark Wright has revealed that he is currently in hospital recovering from an operation that removed a 12cm tumour from under his arm.
The reality star opened up to fans as a way to raise awareness and share his cancer scare, ensuring they know what to look out for if they find themselves in his situation.
Heading straight to his Instagram account, Mark said that he is currently waiting on test results to find out whether or not the lump that was discovered was cancerous or not.
Posing for a photo on his page, Mark had one arm raised over his head to show where the lump was, with it very visible below his armpit.
View this post on Instagram
He wrote: “‘Ok, it’s been a tough call whether or not to speak about this.
“One part of me wants to keep something like this private and the other part is thinking, if I can help/potentially save 1 person, well…. this is the right thing to do.
“So here goes. I discovered a lump in my breast/armpit area. Not very big, but enough to cause concern and to be cautious enough to get it checked.”
Admitting that he left it after a doctor said it was nothing more than ” a fatty lump that doesn’t need any treatment”, Mark only got more concerned when it grew, and immediately went to another specialist for a second opinion.
He said: “I saw another specialist who happens to be a breast consultant for a second opinion. He was certain after seeing an ultrasound scan that it was a LIPOMA (a BENIGN soft tissue tumour).
“However, with it being rather large, he had a tiny bit of concern that it has/could turn in to a SARCOMA (a cancerous malignant tumour) However he was not 100% either way so to be more sure I had an MRI.’
“From the result of the MRI, still this consultant did not want to rule out the worst because of the speed and the size of the growth. At this stage I moved on to a SARCOMA specialist.”
Ten days later, he was in surgery having the tumour removed, explaining that a lipoma can develop into a sarcoma and action needed to be taken immediately.
Adding that his doctor couldn’t confirm from the MRI the seriousness of the lump, it was sent off for more testing.
Mark urged his followers to not let anything slide under the radar, and never to ignore something that “doesn’t look or feel quite right.”
He said: “Nothing in life is more important that your health and well-being. Get checked, check yourself and make sire you take good care of yourself.”
