Well-known TV doctor and GP Dr Punam Krishan has shared an emotional cancer update with her followers. Beloved as Dr Punam by her fans, she delivered the news in a social media video as she marked her 43rd birthday.
She received her breast cancer diagnosis in 2025, before going public with the revelation five months later in early 2026. Dr Punam, a familiar face on BBC Morning Live who also featured on Strictly in 2024, subsequently confirmed she had finished her treatment.
In a post today (Friday, May 29) capturing her celebrations with a bottle of fizz, she said: "Never in a million years did I think that three months after turning 42 I'd be sat in a hospital room being told I had breast cancer. My whole life, as I knew it, changed in a heartbeat."
"It's been, at times, an impossibly hard year, but it's also been a year that has shown me more than I ever understood before about the value of this precious life, our time here, and the things that are most important. I'm not sure yet if I'm able to say I'm grateful for everything that's happened because I'm still recovering and healing and processing and grieving."
"What I am deeply grateful for, though, is the perspective it's given me, because if there's one thing this past year has shown me, it's that health really is everything. After that, it's the people you love, the people who show up for you, and the ordinary moments that bring colour to life."
"I'm no longer chasing goals and deadlines and milestones in the way I once did. I'm enjoying the moments of everyday life with my family and focusing on protecting my health, my peace and what brings purpose and meaning to my life."
"It really is very simple. I think sometimes we can get so lost in all the noise of life that we end up overcomplicating the point of it all and forgetting what truly matters. Cancer has definitely shown me that."
"As I step into my 43rd year, after a season of real heaviness, I find myself feeling lighter somehow. More grounded. More focused. I feel very blessed. It's weird because in a way I feel like I've aged a hundred years over this past year, but I also feel as though I've gained a hundred years worth of wisdom too as the body slowly adapts to its new normal. I think I'll take that as the greatest win from all of this."
"Of all the milestone birthdays I've celebrated, this one feels the most special. I'm celebrating life. Happy birthday to me...here's to Chapter 43."
Dr Punam is an NHS GP who began featuring on BBC Radio Scotland in 2020 and BBC One's Morning Live the subsequent year. She has also authored books covering health and first aid for youngsters.
She is married to Dr Sandesh Gulhane, who serves as an MSP and the Scottish Conservative health spokesman. The Glasgow-born medic explained that early detection had proved vital to her surviving her cancer ordeal. She explained that paying attention to her body and following her instincts had been crucial to her successful treatment.
When she revealed her cancer diagnosis, she received well-wishes from the likes of Strictly professional dance partner Gorka Marquez, and fellow contestant and cancer survivor Amy Dowden.
