Dean Gaffney Says I’m a Celebrity ‘Saved His Life’ After Bowel Cancer Scare

Dean Gaffney credited the ITV medical team I’m a celebrity… get me out of here! for detecting a sign of bowel cancer early and “saving” his life.

the old EastEnders The star said he underwent a medical in 2020 when he was considered for an appearance on the Covid-safe version of the show at Gwrych Castle in Wales.

Doctors reported that Gaffney was “losing blood somewhere” after routine blood tests and initially thought he might have anemia or iron deficiency.

Addressing the MirrorGaffney, 45, admitted he “thought they were overdoing it a bit”, but after a colonoscopy doctors found a number of polyps in his large intestine and immediately referred him for surgery.

“There is no doubt i am a celebrity and his medical team saved my life. I might not be here today if it wasn’t for them to find out what they did,” he said.

Gaffney revealed he was admitted to hospital “within hours” and was “under a general anaesthetic” when “they pulled him out”.

Recalling the moments after he woke up from the operation, Gaffney said the doctor told him: ‘If you hadn’t come to see us today, three years from now, this could have turned into prostate cancer. intestine. You were very lucky.

“I still remember his exact words,” Gaffney said. “I feel so, so lucky. It made me so careful when checking my stool.

Gaffney wants to raise awareness about bowel cancer, following in the footsteps of the late Dame Deborah James, who died of the disease last June.

He described the Bowelbabe activist and fundraiser as “an inspiration to so many people”.

“I have so much respect for her fight and the awareness she raised for bowel cancer,” he said. “If I can make a small fraction of it for the men, that would make me very happy.”

Detailing what doctors had found in his large intestine, Gaffney said the polyps were “massive” and one was “20mm, which is big for a polyp”.

“They didn’t mess around, they put me under general anesthesia, operated on and burned off the polyps. When I came back I could see the doctors were a little mad at me and it was serious,” he continued.

“They were outspoken and said how lucky I was that he was found now. I was stunned.

Doctors wanted to know why Gaffney hadn’t noticed blood in his stool, to which he replied that he hadn’t “got into the habit of looking at my stool”.

“Every time I’ve seen a little red, I just think maybe I got peri-peri sauce,” he added.

“I’m so grateful to the people on the show for bringing this to my attention. I check my stool all the time now. I encourage others to do so too.