bowel cancer in 2021, is currently undergoing treatment and Matt, who lost his grandfather to the condition at the age of 60, and more recently his mother was diagnosed with the disease in her late 50s.Explaining more about his condition exclusively to Express.co.uk, Merlin, who is best known from Channel 4’s First Dates, shared: “My experience with bowel cancer so far has not been nearly as bad as others who have had it.“Cancer is still pretty horrible but bottom line, compared to what others have gone through I think I have been very lucky.”When asked what his diagnosis was like, and why he felt the need to go to the doctors in the first place, Merlin continued to say: “It was persistent and largely unexplainable change in bowel habits that triggered it for me.“Obviously there is the weight loss, lumps in the tummy, or blood in your poo that you look for, but another one I had was extreme tiredness. But that was only noticeable with hindsight.“I would have these odd days once in a while where I would just drop and I wouldn’t be able to do anything.”Working as a bartender, Merlin put his unexplainable symptoms down to the long hours he worked, especially as he stayed up until the early hours of the morning.Having put one of his most concerning symptoms down to lifestyle habits, Merlin was motivated even more to speak about his experience, to try and encourage others not to make the same mistake.He added: “These symptoms individually or even together, you could be tempted not to worry about them, because chances are they are ok.
