This Morning 's regular expert guest Dr Philippa opened up on Wednesday's show over her battle with bowel cancer.
She 40-year-old admitted she was incredibly young to have the illness but it was not unheard of, and it's one of the most common cancers in the UK.
She explained to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield the warning symptoms to look out for which include a change in your bowel habits and persistent bloating.
Philippa already underwent gruelling chemotherapy for six months, that they thought had tackled the cancer but unfortunately she still needs more surgery, with her operation approaching at the end of the week.
Being a doctor herself, Philippa knew instantly during her scan that the mass on the screen was a tumour before being diagnosed in 2019.
"When you're young and even as a doctor, you think, 'This can't be cancer'," she said, as most patients are aged 60+.
She initially presumed her pelvis pain was down to having three emergency cesarean sections in the past and the resulting scar tissue.
Philippa said was tough going into surgery alone and waking up alone due to visiting restrictions amid the pandemic.
"I had a really big surgery and I had six months of chemotherapy, and at that point we hoped that we were done," she said.
"But unfortunately there is a lesion that is still growing, and I'm going in for a whopper at the end of this week, a 10/12 hour surgery.
But sometimes you have to hurt to heal, and this is going to be it I hope, and then that's the first step to recovery.
Philippa added that her treatment was not affected by the pandemic, and explained she was being honest with her two children, 11 and seven, about her health so they felt they could be honest too.
The symptoms to look out for, said Phillippa, include blood in your stools, persistant stomach pains, bloating or discomfort, and fatigue.
* This Morning airs weekdays on ITV at 10am
