BBC News presenter Maryam Moshiri has revealed she is living with incurable blood cancer, sharing her diagnosis nearly two years after first discovering the condition during a routine medical test.
Diagnosis and Rare Medical Condition
Polycythaemia vera is a rare, treatable blood cancer that causes the bone marrow to continuously produce excess red blood cells. According to BBC News, this overproduction makes the blood thick like honey, significantly raising the risk of dangerous blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes. Moshiri stated that she experienced mostly no symptoms initially, and the condition was only uncovered because her general practitioner ordered routine blood work that was sent for further analysis.
The average age of diagnosis for polycythaemia vera is around 60, according to Daily Mail reporting. While the illness cannot be cured, it is typically managed as a chronic condition. Survival rates average 14 years for individuals diagnosed over 60, and up to 24 years for those diagnosed under the age of 60.
Rigorous Treatments and Juggling Broadcasting
Following her diagnosis, Moshiri underwent a grueling initial treatment phase involving venesections—a procedure where a needle is inserted into a vein to draw out blood and reduce concentration levels. According to BBC News, she underwent seven or eight hour-long venesection sessions over a span of about five months, which drastically depleted her iron levels and triggered severe fatigue, hair loss, and full-body itching.
Despite the exhaustion, Moshiri continued working on air. Daily Mail reported that not long after learning of her diagnosis, she traveled to Rome to cover the death of the Pope and the ensuing conclave, managing 14-hour working days while concealing her chronic tiredness. She later transitioned to an NHS immunotherapy treatment called interferon at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust in London, which reduced her need for frequent blood-letting procedures to just one venesection in about 15 months.
Raising Awareness and Family Impact
Moshiri shares three children—Iris, 13, Vivienne, 11, and Caspian, 9—with her partner, LatinNews editor-in-chief Jonathan Farmer. She recounted to Daily Mail that when she first informed her children about her illness, their immediate question was whether she was going to die. She noted that severe treatment side effects often left her too exhausted to play football in the garden with her son, forcing her to adjust to a new lifestyle heavily shaped by hospital appointments and medication.
By speaking publicly about her health, Moshiri aims to raise awareness about the disease and support Blood Cancer UK’s “Here for This” campaign. Helen Rowntree, chief executive of Blood Cancer UK, praised the presenter in statements reported by The Times for using her platform to shed light on blood cancer, which stands as the UK’s fifth most common cancer and its third biggest cancer killer. Moshiri emphasizes that while the disease is incurable, it is manageable with the right medical care, allowing patients to maintain relatively healthy lives.