BBC newscaster, George Alagiah, has revealed he now has lung cancer, saying his bowel cancer has spread to other organs in his body.
Alagiah’s update on his health condition comes two months after he was diagnosed of COVID-19.
The 64-year-old was first diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2014 and later said it had spread to his lymph nodes and liver.
Speaking to The Times, Alahiah said: ‘My doctors have never used the word “chronic” or “cure” about my cancer. ‘They’ve never used the word “terminal” either. I’ve always said to my oncologist, “Tell me when I need to sort my affairs out”, and he’s not told me that, but what he did tell me is that the cancer is now in a third organ. It is in my lungs.’
He added: ‘I said to my doctor, “You’re going to have to do the worrying for me.” I don’t want to fill my mind with worry. I just know that he’s a clever guy, doing everything he can.’
George also revealed that the chemotherapy he has been having has increased as a result of the cancer spreading to other organs.
He said: ‘I don’t want to trivialise because I seem to have had a mild dose, but actually, the very fact that we [cancer patients] are living with cancer I think gives us an edge.
‘We’ve confronted those difficult, dark moments in our life. And in some ways, I think that we, those of us living with cancer, are stronger because we kind of know what it is like to go into something where the outcomes are uncertain.
‘And I certainly feel that having had that experience, in my case six years as a cancer patient, I went into this feeling actually quite strong. ‘If I can live with cancer, I can certainly live with Covid-19.’