BBC news anchor Maryam Moshiri has spoken about living with an incurable rare blood cancer, saying she is determined to "get on with it" even though some days leave her feeling as though her "battery has been taken out." Moshiri, 49, was diagnosed with polycythaemia vera (PV) in November 2024 after a routine blood test flagged an abnormality, and has since continued working, including covering Pope Francis's death and the subsequent conclave in Rome.

PV causes the bone marrow to overproduce red blood cells, thickening the blood and raising the risk of clots, heart attacks and strokes if untreated, though it is typically managed as a chronic condition. Around 15,000 people in the UK live with the disease. Moshiri, who has been undergoing "gruelling" immunotherapy with side effects including insomnia, headaches and severe itching, credits her years of demanding broadcast shift work for instilling the resilience to carry on, and says she hopes her openness shows others that life can continue after diagnosis.