BBC News presenter Maryam Moshiri, 49, reveals incurable cancer diagnosis — BBC News presenter Maryam Moshiri revealed she has been diagnosed with a rare blood cancer.
The presenter of The World Today with Maryam Moshiri shared that she received the diagnosis of polycythaemia vera (PV) in November 24.
The 49-year-old has been undergoing treatment for the rare type of cancer, but the disease will be in her body ‘until the day I die,’ Moshiri told The Times.
The mum-of-three said: ‘It is going to be there until the day I die.
PV affects the bone marrow, causing it to continuously produce red blood cells, thereby thickening the blood.
‘A big part of this disease is having to get on with life.’
Moshiri underwent a procedure called venesection, or phlebotomy, around twice a month.
It involves removing almost a pint of blood through a vein to reduce the number of red blood cells.
She said the first round of immunotherapy treatment called interferon left her feeling like she was itching ‘from inside’ of her, along with insomnia and fatigue, while it reduced the number of venesections she needed.
Moshiri told The Times: ‘I was itching until I was bleeding through to my clothes, I have scars all over my stomach from the itching.’
Eventually, she was able to switch to a different drug with less severe side effects.
Throughout the cancer journey, she continued to work for the broadcaster, including long days leading the coverage of Pope Francis’ death.
She said: ‘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.
‘When you’re doing live news, you have this rush of adrenaline, and you just have to get on with it.’
While adjusting to a ‘different life’ has been challenging, the future ‘punctuated by hospital appointments and loads of medication’ is better than dying ‘of a horrible cancer,’ Moshiri said.