Beloved BBC TV anchor Maryam Moshiri has gotten candid about a pretty heartbreaking life update. As reported by Variety, she has been diagnosed with cancer.
The beloved TV anchor opened up about her diagnosis with Polycythaemia vera, which she was diagnosed with two years ago.
According to Macmillan Cancer Support, polycythaemia vera is a rare type of blood cancer that specifically affects the bone marrow. It means that too many red blood cells are made, making the blood thicker.
She revealed that the blood cancer is incurable. "It is going to be there till the day I die," she said. "A big part of this disease is having to get on with life."
The cancer isn't deadly, but it also isn't curable - it requires lifelong treatment for a somewhat normal quality of life. She talked about having to endure venesections, which is where blood is removed from her body. These are exhausting, and leave her "extremely unwell".
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The Cancer is Especially Difficult for Her Job as a News Anchor
And for a TV anchor like Moshiri, being constantly on air whilst also battling this rare cancer is a whole other battle in itself. One of the key effects of PV is tiredness.
"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 explained. When you're doing live news, you have this rush of adrenaline, and you just have to get on with it."
She also reflected on the more personal side of the treatment and the cancer itself, per The Sun. "During my worst times when I was going through really quite grueling treatment, I wasn't there for my kids," she revealed.
"I'd be lying on the sofa, and my son would say, 'mommy, can you come play [soccer] with me in the garden?', and you just can't. You're too tired."
Following her decision to make her cancer diagnosis public, the TV anchor has also partnered with Blood Cancer UK, a charity which helps people suffering with the disease. She is a part of the Here for This campaign. It highlights "the moments people living with blood cancer can miss because of their condition".
Our thoughts and prayers go out to her as she manages this terrible disease.
