BBC News Anchor Maryam Moshiri Diagnosed with Rare Blood Cancer

Maryam Moshiri, who is a well-known BBC News presenter, has revealed that she is living with blood cancer. The forty-nine-year-old anchor joined the BBC in 2003 and has decided to share her diagnosis to raise awareness.

Doctors diagnosed her in November 2024 with polycythaemia vera, which is a rare but treatable blood cancer. This incurable condition causes the body to produce too many red blood cells, making the blood thicker than normal. As a result, patients have a higher risk of developing blood clots, strokes, or heart attacks.

Maryam explained that she had almost no symptoms, so the disease was difficult to notice. Fortunately, her fastidious GP caught the illness early during a routine blood test and sent her for further tests.

Her initial treatment involved several painful sessions of venesection, which is a procedure that draws blood out of the arm. She had this treatment seven or eight times in five months, which made her feel extremely exhausted. Her iron levels fell quickly, and she also suffered from hair loss and itchy skin.

Fortunately, she has started a new immunotherapy treatment called interferon through the NHS. She has only needed one venesection in fifteen months and feels much better now.

Although she suffers from extreme fatigue, she has continued to travel the world to cover major news stories. She has anchored from Qatar, reported from the Vatican, and traveled to Greenland for her job.

Her husband, Jonathan, and her three children, Iris, Vivienne, and Caspian, have been incredibly supportive throughout this journey. She waited a long time to tell her children because she did not want to worry them. Now, they understand completely when she is too tired to play with them.