In short
- Maryam Moshiri, 49, is a BBC News chief presenter who joined the BBC in 2003 and presents The World Today.
- Moshiri was diagnosed with polycythaemia vera (PV) in November 2024; she said she will need treatment for the rest of her life.
- PV makes the body produce too many red blood cells, thickening the blood and raising the risk of clots that can cause stroke, heart attack or deep vein thrombosis.
- Moshiri had seven or eight venesection sessions in about five months, then received interferon immunotherapy through the NHS.
- Helen Rowntree, chief executive of Blood Cancer UK, said blood cancer is the UK’s fifth most common cancer and third biggest cancer killer.
BBC News chief presenter Maryam Moshiri, 49, has revealed she is living with polycythaemia vera (PV), a rare blood cancer that cannot be cured but can be treated. Moshiri, who joined the BBC in 2003, was diagnosed in November 2024 and told the BBC she wanted to share the diagnosis to raise awareness of the disease.
What is polycythaemia vera?
In polycythaemia vera, the body makes too many red blood cells, which makes the blood thicker than normal and raises the risk of clots that can cause a stroke, heart attack or deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Symptoms can include headaches, confusion, dizziness and blurred vision. The charity Blood Cancer UK, which funds research into blood cancers, says PV is rare and treatable but cannot be cured.
How is Maryam Moshiri being treated?
Moshiri’s first treatment was venesection, in which a needle is placed into a vein in the arm to draw blood out slowly and reduce its thickness. She said that in about five months she had the procedure “seven or eight times”, adding that her iron levels “hit the floor” and she felt even more exhausted. She later received an immunotherapy treatment called interferon through the NHS, which has separately set out 44 rules for the use of AI in the NHS. Moshiri said she has needed only one venesection in about 15 months, and that the last couple of months “have been better than the last two years”.
What symptoms has Maryam Moshiri described?
Moshiri said she had mostly no symptoms, and that her condition was caught only because her GP was “so fastidious” in the way she carried out routine blood tests and immediately sent them for further diagnosis. She said the fatigue is “not like I’m just tired”, adding: “You feel like someone has removed your battery completely.”
What has Blood Cancer UK said?
Helen Rowntree, chief executive of Blood Cancer UK, said: “We’re so grateful to Maryam for bravely sharing her story.” Rowntree said blood cancer is the UK’s fifth most common cancer and third biggest cancer killer, and that it can feel like a “silent” cancer because patients can present with vague symptoms that are hard to spot. She said the charity needs “continued public and government support to fund the next generation of kinder, more effective treatments with fewer side-effects”.
Can polycythaemia vera develop into other cancers?
Blood Cancer UK says that in a few cases PV can develop into another type of blood cancer called myelofibrosis, and even more rarely into a type of leukaemia called acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Moshiri said there is “a lot of research going into blood cancer and scientific advancement to look forward to”. A separate study linked hot tea and coffee at 65C to a higher risk of oesophageal cancer.
How has Maryam Moshiri continued to work?
Moshiri, who presents The World Today and is a mother of three, said she credits her husband Jonathan, BBC management and her children, Iris, 13, Vivienne, 11 and Caspian, 9. She has continued to travel for the BBC, anchoring from Qatar at the start of the US-Israel war with Iran, covering the selection of the new Pope from the Vatican and travelling to Greenland for the visit of US Vice-President JD Vance. “It took me a long time to be able to tell them about this illness, because I don’t want to worry them,” she said of telling her children.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Maryam Moshiri?
Maryam Moshiri is a BBC News chief presenter who joined the BBC in 2003 and presents The World Today. She is 49 and has three children.
What is polycythaemia vera?
Polycythaemia vera is a rare blood cancer in which the body makes too many red blood cells, making the blood thicker and raising the risk of clots that can cause stroke, heart attack or deep vein thrombosis. It cannot be cured but can be managed with treatment.
What treatment has Maryam Moshiri received?
Moshiri had seven or eight venesection sessions in about five months, a procedure that draws blood from a vein to reduce its thickness. She later received an immunotherapy treatment called interferon through the NHS.
Can polycythaemia vera become another cancer?
Blood Cancer UK says that in a few cases PV can develop into another blood cancer called myelofibrosis, and more rarely into acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).
With reporting from BBC News.
Stock image, not from the events described. Blood typing by manual tube method – type O positive — SpicyMilkBoy / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)