Former MasterChef Australia finalist Rhiannon Anderson has urged Australians to pay attention to their health after having a melon-sized tumor removed from her stomach.
The mother-of-five revealed that she had had the huge non-cancerous fibroid removed during a grueling operation six months ago after noticing something was wrong while on season 15 of Ten arriving on the reality show in 2023.
The 47-year-old, originally from Townsville in Far North Queensland, revealed she also had a hysterectomy.
In a candid update about her health battle on Instagram on Tuesday, Anderson shared a graphic image of the large tumor doctors removed from her body.
Another photo showed Ms Anderson lying in a hospital bed as she smiled at the camera.
“This year has been the most difficult of my life regarding my health,” he wrote.
‘I spend a lot of time encouraging women to look for signs in their bodies that they aren’t right, yet I choose to ignore my own problems because I’m ‘too busy’!?
Anderson, (pictured), 47, took to Instagram on Tuesday to upload an honest post about how she had neglected her own health and urged others not to do the same.
“To say I’m disappointed in myself is an understatement.”
The talented cook realized she was having difficulty putting on her jeans while filming MasterChef.
“When I lay down I could feel something in my stomach and I thought, ‘Oh, that’s weird.’ It was like I was pregnant, but there was no baby,” Ms. Anderson told the Townsville Newsletter.
“When I was on MasterChef I got ready in the morning and put on my jeans and as I went through (the tumor), I actually got quite sick.”
After finishing second to winner Brent Draper, Anderson said he had an ultrasound in August 2023.
The ultrasound detected a large fibroid, but Anderson said she was so overwhelmed with work that she didn’t realize the size of the tumor as it continued to grow.
Anderson, who is an ovarian cancer ambassador, said some time later she told prominent obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Sally Aubrey that she had a fibroid.
Ms Anderson (pictured) was so busy she forgot to notice the size of the tumor as it continued to grow after she had an ultrasound which detected the fibroid.
The conversation led her to set aside six weeks on her calendar to schedule the surgery.
“She (Dr. Aubrey) told me we all knew it was going to be big, once (the surgeons) came in they said, ‘Oh my God, this is so much bigger than we imagined,'” Ms. Anderson said.
On a positive note, he said his health has slowly improved since the surgery last year.
“I still have a lot of swelling and pain, but I can continue with most of my daily activities,” she wrote in the social media post.
Dozens of commenters praised Ms Anderson for revealing the details of her terrifying health battle.
“Thank you for the honesty, sharing, courage, empathy for others, and a teachable moment for us to learn from you,” one person wrote.
“Thank you for sharing. If this encourages just one person to get tested, it was worth it,” wrote another.
‘You are a force! Thanks for sharing. I’m going to go get checked out!’ added a third.
Others expressed relief that Ms. Anderson had recovered from her surgery.
The talented cook (pictured) noticed something was wrong while competing during season 15 of the hit Channel 10 reality show in 2023.
‘Oooft, that’s a growing melon. Glad you’re…recovering!’ one person wrote.
‘What a great operation and recovery that would have been. “I’m glad to hear you’re okay,” another person said.
Some were baffled by the size of the oversized fibroid.
‘I can’t believe that was inside you! “I can only imagine the pressure and pain that would have caused,” one person wrote.