High-Profile News Anchor Reveals Blood Cancer Diagnosis

BBC News presenter Maryam Moshiri has revealed she has been battling an incurable form of blood cancer while continuing to work around the world.

Moshiri, 49, was diagnosed with polycythaemia vera (PV) in November 2024 after a blood test ordered by her doctor while monitoring symptoms associated with menopause. The rare cancer causes the bone marrow to produce too many red blood cells, making the blood thicker and increasing the risk of blood clots, heart attacks and strokes.

“It is going to be there till the day I die,” Moshiri told The Times in an interview published as she spoke publicly about her diagnosis for the first time. “A big part of this disease is having to get on with life.”

For Moshiri, that has meant continuing to work full time despite the effects of her condition and treatment.

“I love what I do. I love being where the story is,” she said. “I don’t want to allow blood cancer to stop me from doing my work.”

Her initial treatment involved venesections, also known as phlebotomy, about twice a month. The procedure removes blood through a vein to lower the concentration of red blood cells. Moshiri said the treatments left her exhausted and “extremely unwell.”

After months of venesections, she traveled to Rome in April 2025 to lead BBC News coverage of Pope Francis’ death.

“I was working 14-hour days, constantly on air, constantly having to think on my feet, and holding it together, despite the fact that I had this chronic tiredness and fatigue,” she said. “When you’re doing live news, you have this rush of adrenaline, and you just have to get on with it.”

Following her return, Moshiri began treatment with interferon, an immunotherapy, under the care of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust in London. While it reduced the need for venesections, she experienced severe side effects, including insomnia, headaches and intense itching.

“I was itching until I was bleeding through to my clothes, I have scars all over my stomach from the itching,” she said.

Moshiri later switched to another medication with more manageable side effects. She has also spoken with her three children about her diagnosis.

“They asked me, ‘Are you going to die, mummy?’ Of course, that was the first thing they said,” she said.

She added that her biggest challenge has been “adjusting to a different life” marked by ongoing medication and hospital appointments.