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Australian Survivor contest suffered broken arm on the show and was later diagnosed with cancer
Luke Dennehy, News Corp Australia Network
August 21, 2017 9:17pm
Byron Bay marriage celebrant Jacqui Patterson broke her arm while on Australian Survivor, a break that may have ended up saving her life, as she now faces a cancer battle.
While getting a massage post surgery on her arm and shoulder back in Australia, after the extent of the injury wasn’t picked up during filming, a suspicious mole was spotted by her sister and a friend.
The mole turned out to be a stage four melanoma, and Patterson, 50, will undergo more surgery next Monday, with doctors then deciding what to do next.
Jacqui Patterson has been diagnosed with a diagnosed with a grade four melanoma. Picture: Nigel Wright
Patterson was booted out of Australian Survivor on Monday night, and admits her whole experience has been a roller coaster of ups and downs.
“I had a busted arm (during a challenge) which you didn’t see,” she said.
“That was a big part of my mental downfall as well.
“They misdiagnosed me while I was there, and I was in a fair amount of pain, and that didn’t help me going forward either.
“When I got home I got four screws in my shoulder, but there is a silver lining to it, it’s a blessing in disguise.
“My sister and friend were massaging me and they said I had a funny mole and I should get it checked out.
“Within a week I was diagnosed with a grade four melanoma, so that is my next big challenge now.”
Patterson said she is taking one day at a time, and taking in the last few months of her rollercoaster ride.
“Sometimes I just want to get off it, but I’m enjoying the ride and just going with the flow and keeping my chin up,” she said.
“I’m just rolling with the punches as they say.”
The arm injury happened while she was competing against Olympic water polo player Nicola “Ziggy” Zagame in a challenge.
“I fell quite badly, and they don’t have x rays and ultra sounds out there,” she said.
“It was pretty hard, but because my arm and shoulder were doing everything they probably normally do.
“I guess it’s the way the cookie crumbles.”
Patterson is confident she will beat her latest challenge — the melanoma diagnoses.
“It’s not a good one to have, but let’s just hope they have got it early enough,” she said.
“They are going to take some lymph nodes and mess my back up a bit, but let’s just get it out.”
A spokesperson from production company Endemol Shine Australia, who make Australian Survivor, said they took Patterson’s injury very seriously.
“Endemol Shine Australia takes the health and safety of our Survivor contestants very seriously,” a statement to News Corp said.
“Being involved in physical challenges and living in the Samoan jungle can mean contestants occasionally have injuries and doctors are always on standby.
“The contestants continue to be under our care on return if they have any ongoing injuries or require medical attention.”
Patterson says she should have trusted her gut instinct on the show. Picture: Nigel Wright
As for Australian Survivor, in the end Patterson was voted out by her previously strong Asaga alliance, after her main man — Adelaide labourer Henry Nicholson, decided to swap to the rival Samatau tribe.
It dismantled the power couple, and Nicholson also took a hidden immunity idol along side him.
“I was gutted, I think the look on my face told it all,” she said.
“I was like, what the f..k are you doing?
“I just felt I was thrown under the bus straight away.
“We’ve discussed what happened post show, but at the time you can’t discuss it, and you don’t know the reasons behind it.
“I was pretty gutted.”
In the end the Asaga tribe turned on itself, with either Patterson or model Sarah Tilleke on the chopping block.
The big winners were Tara Pitt and Anneliese Wilson, who lived another day after getting voted off, and then switching tribes.
Patterson regrets not going with her gut, and trying to get the support of Pitt — who ended up voting for her — earlier.
“I had plenty of time to approach Tara, but I thought ‘she has had a pretty big couple of hours, I don't want to pounce on her’,” she said.
“But sometimes you can’t afford to wait in Survivor.
“I think the biggest thing is I should have done, is trust your gut.
“You have to go with your gut feeling in that because it’s right every time.”
Australian Survivor airs on Channel 10 on Sunday and Monday at 7.30pm.