Polycythaemia Vera Symptoms: What Is The Blood Condition Maryam Moshiri Has

BBC presenter Maryam Moshiri has revealed she’s living with a form of incurable blood cancer.

In a new interview with the broadcaster, Maryam shared that in November 2024, she was told she had polycythaemia vera (PV), a rare yet treatable form of the disease.

“I was told by my consultant that I have this incurable blood cancer,” she recalled. “Mostly I had no symptoms and that’s one of the problems with this disease.

“The only reason mine was caught was because my GP was so fastidious in the way she did my routine blood tests and immediately sent them for further diagnosis.”

Two years after her diagnosis, the presenter said she feels like she’s “started to understand the disease a lot better and the way it affects my life”.

“I’ve got a handle on it to a degree now, so I felt it was really important to raise awareness,” she added.

PV causes the body to make too many red blood cells and is typically diagnosed through a blood test.

It tends to develop slowly which means it can start out symptomless – as a result, Cancer Research UK said many people find out they have it when they have a blood test for something else.

As the illness progresses, it can cause symptoms such as:

• headaches;

• fatigue;

• burning pain in the hands and feet;

• blurred vision and other problems with your eyes, such as vision loss that comes and goes;

• night sweats;

• unusual bleeding – for example, nosebleeds;

• bruising more easily;

• itching, especially after a shower or bath;

• pain or discomfort in the abdomen from an enlarged spleen;

• high blood pressure;

• gout, which can cause sudden, severe joint pain;

• bleeding or blood clots, which can sometimes lead to stroke or heart problems;

• bone pain;

• reddening of the skin;

• feeling dizzy;

• chest pain.

Maryam, who has been with the BBC since 2003, said while the cancer is incurable, it’s “manageable with the right treatment”.

She continued: “It’s just a question of finding the right treatment and making sure it works for you.”

Treatment can range from low dose aspirin (to reduce the risk of blood clotting) to venesection, where some blood is removed and the body then makes more blood, but produces red blood cells more slowly than the rest.

People with a high risk of blood clots might need treatment to control their red blood cell levels. This can be given in the form of chemotherapy or targeted cancer drugs.