Mark Filippelli had always been more proactive with his health than the typical Australian thirty-something.
So when she entered her diabetes checkup in 2015, she had no reason to suspect she would emerge with a devastating leukemia diagnosis.
The Melbourne restaurateur, then 31, lived a full life and counted several celebrities and high-profile locals among his clients. This included Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth, with whom he has been close friends for 14 years.
It was a typical Friday afternoon when Mark decided to schedule himself for a medical checkup that weekend, a decision that would change his life and probably save it.
‘It was a completely normal day. It felt like the most insignificant thing, like one more thing I had to do,” Mark, now 40, told FEMAIL.
“I was prepared for anything when I went back for the results, but I was shocked when the doctor gave me the diagnosis.”
‘It’s bad news. “He has a rare type of blood cancer: hairy cell leukemia,” the doctor announced.
Mark said his body went numb. He couldn’t understand what they were saying to him and as he walked back to his car he described the feeling as “like a zombie… like I was floating.”
Mark Filippelli (pictured center with the Hemsworths) was diagnosed with hairy cell leukemia in 2015.
“Sitting in the car with that diagnosis was the loneliest moment of my life,” he admitted.
A “hell week” followed, with Mark forced to undergo a series of tests to determine what stage his cancer was. Luckily, it was stage one – early enough to treat.
Despite his loneliness, Mark decided to fight his diagnosis and subsequent treatment alone. He didn’t want his friends or family to worry…and he especially didn’t want them to “treat him differently.”
Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) is a rare type of blood cancer that progresses very slowly. The cancer cells look “hairy” under the microscope, hence the name, and only a few dozen patients are diagnosed in Australia each year.
Mark decided to fight the news alone and didn’t tell anyone, not even his family, because he didn’t want to worry others or be treated differently (pictured with his grandmother).
‘Given my Italian heritage, I knew that, as always, I was destined to be hairy… Fuck me, even my cells were hairy! “This would be the beginning of what I now consider a huge turning point in my life,” he laughs.
He kept his news a secret for months.
He was so quiet about it that many of his close friends and family, including the Hemsworth family, still won’t know about his battle until the release of his autobiography and cookbook ‘This Cookbook Is A Huge Missed Steak’ on October 30.
‘I didn’t want cancer to define me or change the way people interacted with me. “I was worried about disappointing or upsetting his family, especially my parents,” she said.
After waiting a week, which felt like a month, to see his regular doctor, Mark breathed a sigh of relief when he was told the cancer had been caught early, was treatable and was only at stage one (pictured with Delta Goodrem) .
Before his 2015 diagnosis, Mark was fit, healthy but consumed by his businesses and working up to 60 hours a week (pictured far left).
Mark is the youngest of three brothers and owns restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne with his older brother. His family has no history of cancer and Mark did not experience any symptoms.
Before his diagnosis, Mark was fit and healthy, but admits his businesses consumed him and he worked up to 60 hours a week.
‘I guess I’ve never taken what I put into my body seriously before. “I know it shouldn’t take something as big as cancer to start thinking about it, but in many ways I was very consumed by work and that changed my approach to life,” he said.
‘My job is something I love and am very passionate about, but I had to think about what my passions and goals were outside of that.
“Although I never felt like I was in imminent danger or that my life was at drastic risk, cancer did change my perspective on life.”
Months later, Marlk woke up with a high fever and immediately went to the hospital to make sure his immune system was not compromised. He spent 10 days recovering and then decided to tell his brother and parents.
A few weeks after his diagnosis, he began chemotherapy treatment that involved four injections daily for 20 days. He also continued to go to work during this time; His staff didn’t notice.
Seven months later he woke up with a high fever and immediately went to the hospital to make sure his immune system didn’t fail. He spent 10 days recovering in the hospital and the nurses couldn’t believe he was still going to work.
He “deceived” his parents and siblings about his sudden absence.
“I said I was seeing someone and I’d be gone for a week,” Mark recalled.
It was when he was lying in a hospital bed that he decided to bite the bullet and tell his brother everything over the phone.
‘He got a little emotional and told me I should let my parents know because they are very resilient. So I got up the courage to tell him,” he said.
‘Telling my parents was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life. Mom was crying and dad was trying to contain himself.
Mark said revealing the news was much harder than finding out about his diagnosis the first time.
Mark became close friends with Chris Hemsworth (centre) and his family 14 years ago, when his parents Craig and Leonie became “regulars” at a cafe he ran in St Kilda. Today he runs 18 restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne and has been watching his diet since 2015.
Following his stay in hospital, Mark was forced to take three months off work after suffering an allergic reaction to the medication, something he described as a “big turning point” that inspired him to focus on his diet.
“Because I was very passionate about food, I had time to research why certain diets might be better for your health,” she said.
Mark began researching longevity zones, also known as “blue zones,” in different parts of the world to understand how to live a healthier life through diet.
These “zones,” such as Japan, Costa Rica, Italy, and Greece, are geographic areas that are home to unusual numbers of centenarians.
As such, some believe that the key to a long, disease-free life is to replicate the eating and activity patterns of the people of the areas.
Although Dan Buettner first pushed it 20 years ago, the concept has since exploded, with hundreds of books and even a Netflix documentary dedicated to exploring the phenomenon.
Sardinia in Italy, Okinawa in Japan and Ikaria in Greece are home to some of the oldest populations in the world.
Mark then explored the benefits of vegetarian diets before flying to the US for two and a half months, where he noticed the trend of the “plant-based movement.”
At that time he also noticed how matcha was gaining popularity and opened Matcha Mylkbar in Australia after his travels.
Mark became close friends with Chris Hemsworth and his family 14 years ago, when his parents Craig and Leonie became “regulars” at a cafe he owned in St Kilda.
Over the years, especially when he lived in Byron Bay, he would meet up with the family for dinner, barbecues and drinks.
‘I became very good friends with Chris and we have a lot in common. They are all really amazing people and very humble. Most of the time I forget that they are famous,’ he said.
Fortunately, Mark is now recovered and cancer-free; the only burden he carries is the secret he kept from so many people for so long.
Today he runs 18 restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne and has been watching his diet since 2015, something he wants to inspire more people to do before it’s too late.