MARK Wright has opened up for the first time about how a cancer scare filled him with 'fear' and how his recovery from an operation was 'tough'.

The former TOWIE star, 35, underwent an op seven months ago to remove a 12cm tumour from his armpit, which was "big enough to cause concern".

Luckily the growth turned out to be benign, but Mark – who is married to actress Michelle Keegan – has revealed how the ordeal has changed him.

He told The Mirror: "It has scared me because it makes you feel you're not immortal.

"You always think: 'Ah yes, it's not going to happen to me'. And then when something like that happens, it does give you a bit of a fear."

Mark, who recently arrived in Sydney to be with wife Michelle, who is filming in Australia, added: "I've always been quite aware of my health. I wouldn't say I'm a hypochondriac but I definitely always get checks.

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"If I ever feel anything's not completely right, I'll go and get it checked out."

Mark went on to explain how the operation recovery was challenging and he has been left with side effects including strange sensations in his arm.

"Where it was where the operation was, there was a lot of nerves and nerve endings there so they had to be really careful and that's why it had to be so particularly done.

"I chose my surgeon wisely because you can really mess the nerves up and, to be fair, even now down on my forearm, my skin stings a little bit.

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"And I have weird sensations and pins and needles sometimes."

Mark also said the healing process was difficult because of the position of the lump.

"It was tough," he recalled. "It was quite a big operation and it was under your armpit and when you're walking your arm moves the whole time, so it was it wasn't a nice feeling."

Mark opened up about his tumour back in December, sharing a photo of the lump under his arm on social media.

He explained he found the lump in his "breast/armpit area" and was told not to worry – but returned to medics when it started to grow.

The star shared a topless picture of himself that showed the lump on his body alongside a shot of the tumour measuring 12cm beside a ruler.

Mark told his followers: "Ok, it’s been a tough call whether or not to speak about this.

"One part of me wants to keep something like this private and the other part is thinking, if I can help/potentially save 1 person, well…. this is the right thing to do.

"So here goes. I discovered a lump in my breast/armpit area. Not very big, but enough to cause concern and to be cautious enough to get it checked.

"I saw a doctor who passed it on as 'a fatty lump that doesn’t need any treatment' so I just left it.

"After some time the lump grew and began to bother me. I am someone that when it comes to life in general, I leave no stone unturned. When it involves health, this idiom quadruples.

With it being rather large, he had a tiny bit of concern that it has/could turn in to a SARCOMA (a cancerous malignant tumour)

"I saw another specialist who happens to be a breast consultant for a second opinion.

"He was certain after seeing an ultrasound scan that it was a LIPOMA (a BENIGN soft tissue tumour).

"However with it being rather large, he had a tiny bit of concern that it has/could turn in to a SARCOMA (a cancerous malignant tumour).

"However he was not 100% either way so to be more sure I had an MRI [a detailed body scan].

"From the result of the MRI, still this consultant did not want to rule out the worst because of the speed and the size of the growth.

"At this stage I moved on to a SARCOMA specialist."

This specialist saw the scans around 10 days ago and today I was in theatre having this little git removed," he said referring to the tumour.

"His fast and incredible turn around was due to the fact he did not want to leave it any longer and wanted it out to prevent the rare risk of a LIPOMA turning into a sarcoma overtime.

"He also could not 100% confirm by the MRI that this was definitely a benign tumour and not something more sinister.

"The tumour will be sent off for further testing just to be 110% sure but this top doctor is certain from his incredible experience that we have done the job and there is nothing sinister to worry about. So I’m all good 👌🏻.

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"MORAL OF THE STORY: If you notice anything that doesn’t look or feel quite right. Don’t leave it.

"Nothing in life is more important than your health and well-being. Get checked, check yourself and make sure you take good care of yourself. 💙."

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