Love Island's Demi Jones has bravely opened up on her cancer battle and what she has experienced throughout her tough journey so far.
The reality star, who shot to fame on last year's series of the ITV2 dating show, sat down with her best pal Shaughna Phillips as part of Cancer Research UK's Play Your Part campaign, to openly talk about Demi's battle with thyroid cancer after she was diagnosed in May this year.
Reflecting on the moment she found out about her diagnosis, Demi recalled: "I remember leaving the hospital room and I got into my car and I just sat down. I was crying so much cause it's just actually hit me."
"Even though it's a treatable cancer, I still feel like, what could this do? Is this gonna kill me? Am I gonna be really poorly?"
Former style advisor Demi revealed her tumour was the "size of a golf ball", to which Shaughna said: "I was terrified for you."
The red-haired beauty admitted some of her fans had noticed the lump while she was on Love Island, as they watched from their TV screens.
"Quite a few people had messaged me and said that they'd seen the lump on my neck," she revealed. "My doctor said that he reckons it was there for years and years just slowly growing."
Demi said she is getting more treatment in the coming months to help cure her illness.
She explained it is radiation treatment, which will "zap away any of the remaining cancer cells".
The TV star shared that the scar on her neck is "a small price to pay" and she's glad she found the lump sooner rather than later.
"I feel like so many people would probably love to be in my position right now, so I'm just thinking myself really lucky," she said.
Since her unexpected diagnosis, Demi has been transparent with her Instagram followers and aims to inspire others.
After sharing her story, fans have followed her advice and gone to get their lumps checked, just to be safe.
Speaking about the overwhelming response she's had on social media, Demi added: "Now, I can't go a day without people messaging me, saying they’ve got their lumps checked because of me, they’re going for an operation because of my story."
"People don't realise this changes lives," Shaughna said in agreement with Demi.
"One in two people will have cancer in their lifetime. Near enough every person that you know will have a story to tell about cancer, so why don't we speak about it more?"
Earlier this year, Demi found out about her cancer.
She said she wishes she had told her family about her illness before announcing her diagnosis on social media.
Demi told her fans her devastating news and had to undergo surgery to remove a lump from her neck.
She seems to be on her road to recovery, but wants fans to be aware of the heartbreaking illness.
