Lauren Laverne announced her diagnosis with smouldering myeloma on 17 July 2026. The 48-year-old BBC presenter, who received the all-clear from a previous cancer in November 2024, made the disclosure via Instagram. She stated that she feels well, requires no immediate treatment and faces a low risk of progression to blood cancer.
Smouldering myeloma is an asymptomatic blood and bone marrow disorder. In some cases it can develop into blood cancer. The condition is chronic, with no cure currently available, and it compromises the immune system. Laverne will require ongoing monitoring through blood tests, MRIs and bone marrow biopsies.
The diagnosis followed her GP's insistence on further investigation of persistently low iron levels. Laverne has made clear that the condition has no connection to her previous cancer or recent surgery. She will take a couple of weeks' holiday before returning to work as normal.
Her openness about successive health challenges over the past eight years reveals a pattern of quiet resilience. Rather than framing difficulties through narratives of victimhood, Laverne has consistently pointed to the practical steps that preserved her quality of life: attentive clinical judgment and her own determination to pursue answers. The GP's refusal to dismiss low iron levels stands as a quiet exemplar of competent primary care that catches conditions before they declare themselves.
More than 53,000 people in the UK are on active monitoring for different blood cancers including smouldering myeloma. Many remain unaware of the disorder until routine checks, particularly among cancer survivors under closer surveillance. Laverne credited her GP for the early detection that followed those checks and expressed gratitude for the support of family, friends and colleagues.
