Love Island's Sophie Lee has revealed her battle with an 'incurable tumour' after a horror fire-breathing accident.
The newest series of ITV's hit romance show is set to kick off in just a few days and the islanders will soon be entering the renowned villa.
One of the stars, 29-year-old Sophie from Manchester, has opened up about how she was forced to 'sign her life over as a medical guinea pig'.
The author and motivational speaker had been working as a professional dancer and fire performer when she was 22 for 18-months before she suffered horrific burns to her face and chest during a freak accident in the United States.
She was performing at a charity event in Chicago when the venue’s air conditioning blew flames she was expelling from her mouth back into her face, leaving her with serious, life-threatening burns.
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Love Island's Sophie Lee (pictured) has revealed her battle with 'incurable tumours' after a horror fire-breathing accident.
Love Island has confirmed the full line-up of contestants joining the upcoming series as the brand new villa-mates are announced ahead of the twelfth series (L-R Harry, Blu, Alima,Tommy, Megan, Helena, Ben, Sophie, Meg, Sharkia, Dejon and Kyle)
The author and motivational speaker had been working as a professional dancer and fire performer when she was 22 for 18-months before she suffered horrific burns to her face and chest during a freak accident in the United States
'I'm very lucky to be alive,' Sophie revealed, before sharing that the burn 'escalated to become a keloid tumour'.
The motivational speaker faced issues getting a diagnosis in England but when she was told she had a keloid tumour, she felt she 'became an international case study'.
'I found out that there was no cure in the world for keloid tumours. So you know, surgeons from around the world scrambling trying to find out the best way to cure keloid tumours,' she added.
The Love Islander had intralesional cryosurgery twice, which involved liquid nitrogen being injected into the tumour to freeze it off and allow new skin to form.
Sophie said: 'Then I went through stages of steroid injections to bring down any more sides of the scar because they didn't want to perform the surgery again.
'I was told that, you know, being a guinea pig, I basically signed my life over.
'There was no guarantee of success, of surgery or survival because of where it was. You know, there's always at risk of surgery.'
'I'm very lucky to be alive,' Sophie revealed, before sharing that the burn 'escalated to become a keloid tumour'
The motivational speaker faced issues getting a diagnosis in England but when she was told she had a keloid tumour, she felt she 'became an international case study'
However, the steroid injections eventually stopped working for Sophie and she had to then move on to chemotherapy injections.
'It was injected into my tumour, and you know, that took it out of me,' she explained.
The horrific accident and journey treating the keloid tumour impacted Sophie's dating life and she had times where she didn't feel 'sexy', 'cute' or 'ready to have a partner'.
She added: 'Which is why I didn't want to date, whereas now I've worked on myself.'
As she enters the Love Island villa, Sophie is open to finding romance on the show and said: 'I've took time away from just embracing in the trauma and you know, now I'm a motivational speaker I feel like now I'm in a place where I'm ready to find my partner and find my person.'
Sophie has since turned to modelling and influencing and has even written a book about her experience.
She also works with Katie Piper's foundation, which supports people living with burns and scars.
The new series will kick off on Monday 9th June, one week later than previous years.
The Love Islander had intralesional cryosurgery twice, which involved liquid nitrogen being injected into the tumour to freeze it off and allow new skin to form
The last season of the ITV dating programme - which was the second All Stars version - ended in February, and saw Gabby Allen and Casey O'Gorman crowned champions, before their split earlier this month.
Fans will be happy to know that it's not long before they will get their Love Island fix.
A post shared on ITV's social media featured a snap unveiling the return date, along with the caption: 'Mark your calendar, you're invited to this year's hottest meeting...
'Agenda: Initial coupling, strategic navigation of red flags, and identification of potential long-term partnerships.'
