Ms Moshiri - who joined the Corporation in 2003 and is one of its best-known anchors - was diagnosed with polycythaemia vera (PV) in November 2024, a rare cancer that causes bone marrow to continuously create red blood cells which makes the blood become thick like honey.

The cancer cannot be cured and can cause blood clots, heart attacks and strokes if untreated, but is typically managed like a chronic condition rather than a rapidly progressive illness. 

Ms Moshiri, 49, shared her diagnosis earlier this week, describing the treatment for the chronic illness as 'gruelling', with side effects like insomnia, headaches and intense itching. 

Now, the mother-of-three has shared more detail about her road to diagnosis, saying she was 'very lucky' her GP caught the cancer in its early stages. 

Speaking to her BBC colleague Lucy Hockings on Monday, Ms Moshiri said: 'I was having routine blood tests and my GP... noticed that my red blood cells, my HCT, as it's known, was very high.' 

From then, she said, she was referred to a haematology and oncology department at a hospital in London. 

'It was there,' Ms Moshiri continued: 'They diagnosed polycythaemia vera. It's a very rare form of blood cancer.

'I was very lucky that my GP caught it early, because to be honest with you, I didn't have that many symptoms. 

'Yes, I was tired, I had headaches, but I put that down to perimenopause - I was a 46-year-old woman at the time. Who knows what you're suffering, you're busy, you have kids, you have a family.' 

In the time following her cancer diagnosis, Ms Moshiri continued to work - despite having more than a pint of blood drawn from her body every month to dilute the red blood cell concentration, which left her feeling sick and exhausted.

In April 2025, she was flown to Rome to cover Pope Francis's death and ensuing conclave. 

'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 told The Times. 

But she clarified she does not want her diagnosis to get in the way of her work, adding that 'a big part of this disease is having to get on with life'.

On her return to London, Ms Moshiri began an immunotherapy treatment at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS trust called interferon, which reduced the amount of blood that needed to be drawn.

Aspirin is typically also given to patients to reduce the risk of clots.

However, she said she suffered debilitating side effects, like insomnia, headaches and such intense itching she would draw blood from her scratching.

She said: 'During my worst times when I was going through really quite gruelling treatment, I wasn't there for my kids. I'd be lying on the sofa, and my son would say, "mummy, can you come play football with me in the garden?" And you just can't. You're too tired'

Some months later, Ms Moshiri said she switched to a different drug which had more manageable side effects, but admitted to having to adjust to a different lifestyle that will be occupied by hospital appointments and medication.

She is now supporting a new campaign Here for This, by Blood Cancer UK, which highlights the moments sufferers can miss due to the condition.

As of 2023, about 15,000 people in the UK live with polycythaemia vera.

In some patients, white blood cells and platelets – responsible for clotting the blood after injuries – are also produced excessively.

Most cases develop later in life, with 60-years-olds being the average age at diagnosis. The average survival rate is 14 years for those who are over 60 when diagnosed, rising to 24 years for the under-60s. 

One of Ms Moshiri's colleagues at the BBC, DJ David Hamilton, similarly shared that he had polycythaemia vera four years ago.

'Diddy' - famous for his presenting gigs on Radio 1 and 2 in their heyday, as well as Top of the Pops - said he showed no other signs of illness until one day he started urinating blood.

Hamilton said: 'The word 'cancer' freaks everybody out. But my consultant said to put it in perspective, 'if you're going to have cancer, this is the best cancer you could possibly have'. That was very comforting.'

Ms Moshiri first caused shock waves in December 2023 when she gestured her middle finger at the camera before reading out the top of the hour headlines.

In an extended video released after the slip up, Ms Moshiri was seen making a series of exaggerated gestures with her hands before reaching 'one' and appearing to 'flip off' the camera.

Since then, she has suffered several other on-air gaffes, like imitating a seagull against her producer's advice, bending a spoon in relation to a man crushing a frying pan, and jogging on the spot while presenting a segment on daily step-count.