Samie Elishi has returned home after undergoing surgery to remove half of her thyroid.
The 23-year-old shot to fame after placing third on the winter series of Love Island earlier this year alongside her beau Tom Clare.
After leaving the show, fans alerted Samie to a “really large” lump on her neck, and she had a biopsy – and it was undetermined whether the lump was cancerous or not, as it fell within a “grey area”.
On Tuesday, Samie told her 668k Instagram followers that her surgery was complete, and that she felt “absolutely fine”.
Issuing another update the following day, the Love Island star said: “Home time today. I’m in minimal pain at the moment it just feels a little bruised & tender.”
“I’m constantly clearing my throat but that’s normal as I’ve read soo many of your lovely messages about your experiences.”
“A few messages of people saying they’re scared of having it done which I completely understand but I just wanted to say you have nothing to worry about!”
Samie continued: “The surgery is so straight forward & it’s soo common now, it gets done all the time.”
“My DMs are open for any questions you have! (not that I’m anywhere near an expert but any recovery questions).”
In a YouTube video shared earlier this year, Samie broke down in tears as she spoke about the lump.
She said: “Got the biopsy done, and how it works is they grade these things one to five, and mine was a three. So say if it’s like four or five, then normally it’s definitely cancerous, you’ll need to get it out. But mine was a grey area, so they couldn’t tell.”
“They weren’t sure if it is cancerous or if it’s not,” Samie continued to tell her YouTube subscribers at the time. “So I have to have half of my thyroid removed. That’s a surgery.”
Breaking down in tears, the Love Island star said: “Do you know what? I shouldn’t be upset because I’m so grateful that people messaged so I’ve caught it now.”
“And I’m so grateful that I have the opportunity to get it removed and get it sorted. But it is still just really scary. Like I am obviously a young girl, I’m realising how common it is now.”
