BBC Radio 6 Music presenter and The One Show host Lauren Laverne has announced she has been diagnosed with smouldering myeloma, an inactive form of blood cancer, just two years after overcoming a previous cancer diagnosis.
New Health Diagnosis Revealed
Laverne, 48, shared the news in a statement on Instagram on Friday, July 17, 2026. She described smouldering myeloma as a condition with a "weird name" that she had never heard of before. According to Blood Cancer UK, smouldering myeloma is an inactive form of myeloma that does not cause symptoms or harm.
"I've been diagnosed with something called smouldering myeloma," Laverne wrote. "It's an asymptomatic blood and bone marrow disorder that in some people can develop into blood cancer. Thankfully for me, the risk of this happening in my case is pretty low."
Background of Previous Cancer Battle
In August 2024, Laverne announced she was undergoing cancer treatment after a screening test caught the disease "early and unexpectedly." By November 2024, she was given the all-clear. Reflecting on that moment, she told Good Housekeeping: "The day I was discharged, we managed to get downstairs and [husband] Graeme got me into the car and we didn't even switch it on. We just sat in the car and both burst into tears and cried."
After her recovery, Laverne returned to her regular broadcasting duties on BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC One's The One Show, and Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.
Details of Smouldering Myeloma Diagnosis
Laverne explained that her new diagnosis was discovered through careful monitoring, common for cancer survivors. "Most people my age who have it have no idea - it tends to be cancer survivors like me who are diagnosed early as we're so carefully monitored," she said. "It has nothing to do with previous illness or my recent surgery, it's just one of those things."
She noted that smouldering myeloma is a chronic condition with no cure yet, and it compromises her immune system. "I will need to take good care of myself and I will be carefully monitored with blood tests, MRIs and bone marrow biopsies (which I have recently discovered are even less fun than they sound)," she added.
Message of Gratitude and Advocacy
Laverne expressed gratitude to her family, friends, the 6 Music team, and her medical professionals. She specifically thanked her GP for catching the issue early, saying: "This is the second Big Problem my GP has caught early and it is frankly impossible to adequately express my gratitude. I was pretty blasé about my persistently low iron levels but he insisted we get to the bottom of what was going on."
She encouraged others to advocate for their health: "My message to others would be: be like him, not me! Advocate for yourself if you need to and ask to see a haematologist if you are in the same situation."
Plans for Work and Future
Laverne concluded her post by saying she would take a couple of weeks off work before returning to normal duties. "I'm taking a couple of weeks holiday and will be back to work as normal after that," she wrote. "I feel like I have more to say about this and the other experiences I've had, so maybe I'll find a place to do that soon. For now lots of love, especially to anyone dealing with similar issues."
