Mark Filippelli had always been more proactive with his health than the typical 30-something Aussie man.
So when he walked into his diabetes health check in 2015 he had no reason to suspect he would be leaving with a world-shattering leukaemia diagnosis.
Then 31, the restaurateur from Melbourne was living a fulfilling life and counted various celebrities and high-profile locals as customers. This included Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth who he has been close friends with for 14 years.
It was a typical Friday afternoon when Mark decided to book in for a health check that weekend – a decision that would change his life – and likely save it.
‘It was a completely normal day. It felt like the most insignificant thing – like just another thing I had to do,’ Mark, now 40, told FEMAIL.
‘I was prepared for anything when I went back to get my results but I was shocked when the doctor delivered the diagnosis.’
‘It’s bad news. You have a rare type of blood cancer – hairy cell leukaemia,’ the doctor announced.
Mark said his body went numb. He couldn’t fathom what he was being told and as he walked back to his car he described the sensation as ‘zombie like… as though I was floating’.
Mark Filippelli (pictured centre with the Hemsworths) was diagnosed with hairy cell leukaemia in 2015
‘Sitting with that diagnosis in the car was the loneliest moment in my life,’ he admitted.
A ‘week of hell’ followed, with Mark forced to undergo a range of tests to determine how far along his cancer was. Thankfully it was stage one – early enough to treat.
Despite his loneliness, Mark still chose to battle his diagnosis and subsequent treatment alone. He didn’t want friends or family to worry… and he especially didn’t want to be ‘treated differently’.
Hairy cell leukaemia (HCL) is a rare type of blood cancer that progresses very slowly. The cancer cells look ‘hairy’ under a microscope, hence its name, and only a few dozen patients are diagnosed in Australia each year.
Mark chose to battle the news alone and didn’t tell another soul, not even his family, because he didn’t want to worry others or be treated differently (pictured with his grandmother)
‘Given my Italian heritage, I knew I as always destined to be hairy… f*** me, even my cells were hairy! This would be the beginning of what I now look back on as a huge turning point in my life,’ he laughed.
He kept his news secret for months.
He was so quiet about it that many of his close relatives and friends, including the Hemsworth family, still won’t know about his battle until the release of his autobiography and cookbook ‘This Cookbook Is A Huge Missed Steak’ on October 30.
‘I didn’t want cancer to define me or change how people interacted with me. I was worried about disappointing or upsetting his family, especially my parents,’ he said.
After waiting a week, which felt like a month, to see his regular doctor Mark breathed a sigh of relief after being told the cancer was caught early, treatable and only in stage one (pictured with Delta Goodrem)
Prior to the 2015 diagnosis, Mark was fit, healthy but consumed by his businesses and worked up to 60 hours a week (pictured far left)
Mark is the youngest of three and owns restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne with his older brother. Their family doesn’t have any history of cancer and Mark didn’t experience any symptoms.
Prior to his diagnosis, Mark was fit and healthy but admits he was consumed by his businesses and worked up to 60 hours a week.
‘I guess I’d never really taken what I put into my body seriously beforehand. I know that it shouldn’t take a huge thing like cancer to start thinking about it but in a lot of ways I was very consumed by work at that shifted my focus on life,’ he said.
‘My work is something I love and am so passionate about but I had to think of what my passions and goals were outside of that.
‘While I never felt I was in imminent danger or my life was drastically at risk, cancer did change my perspective on life.’
Months on Marlk woke up with a high fever and went immediately to hospital to ensure his immune system wasn’t affected. He spent 10 days recovering and then decided to tell his brother and parents
Within weeks of his diagnosis he started chemotherapy treatment which involved four daily injections for 20 days. He also continued going to work during this time; his staff were none the wiser.
Seven months on he woke up with a high fever and went immediately to hospital to ensure his immune system wasn’t failing. He spent 10 days recovering in hospital and nurses couldn’t believe he was still going to work.
He ‘bluffed’ to his parents and siblings about his sudden absence.
‘I said I was seeing someone and was away for the week,’ Mark recalled.
It was when he was laying in a hospital bed that he decided to bite the bullet and tell his brother everything over the phone.
‘He got a bit emotional and told me I should let my parents know because they’re very resilient. So I built up the courage to tell them,’ he said.
‘Telling my parents was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Mum cried and dad was trying to hold it together.’
Mark said revealing the news was much harder than finding out about his diagnosis the first time.
Mark became close friends with Chris Hemsworth (centre) and his family 14 years ago when his parents Craig and Leonie became ‘regulars’ at a café he owned in St Kilda. Today he runs 18 restaurants across Sydney and Melbourne and has been taking care of his diet since 2015
After his hospital stint, Mark was forced to take three months off after having an allergic reaction to the medication – something he described as a ‘big turning point’ which inspired him to focus on his diet.
‘Being really passionate about food I then had time to look into why certain diets might be better for you,’ he said.
Mark started researching longevity zones – also known as ‘blue zones’ – in different parts of the world to understand how to live a healthier life through diet.
These ‘zones’, such as Japan, Costa Rica, Italy and Greece, are geographic areas that are home to unusual amounts of centenarians.
As such, some believe the key to long, disease-free lives is by replicating the eating and activity patterns of people in the zones.
Although first pushed 20 years ago by Dan Buettner, the concept has since exploded, with hundreds of books and even a Netflix documentary dedicated to exploring the phenomenon.
Sardinia in Italy, Okinawa in Japan and Ikaria in Greece are all home to some of world’s oldest populations
Mark then looked into the benefits of vegetarian diets before flying to the US for two and a half months where he noticed the trend of the ‘plant-based movement’.
At the time he also noticed how matcha was increasing in popularity and opened Matcha Mylkbar in Australia after his travels.
Mark became close friends with Chris Hemsworth and his family 14 years ago when his parents Craig and Leonie became ‘regulars’ at a café he owned in St Kilda.
Over the years, particularly when living in Byron Bay, he would catch up with the family for dinner, BBQs and drinks.
‘I became really good friends with Chris and have lots in common. They’re all really incredibly people and so humble. Most of the time I forget they’re famous,’ he said.
Mark is thankfully now recovered and cancer-free – the only burden he carries is the secret he kept from so many for so long.
Today he runs 18 restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne and has been taking care of his diet since 2015 – something he wants to inspire more to do before it’s too late.
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