BBC newscaster George Alagiah, first diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2014, revealed he had tested positive for coronavirus but is now feeling well again.
George Alagiah gave hope to thousands of cancer patients tonight when he revealed he had tested positive for coronavirus but was now feeling well again.
The BBC newscaster, first diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2014, shared words of encouragement with fellow cancer patients, saying: “If I can live with cancer, I can certainly live with Covid-19.”
His heartfelt message, delivered on his own show – the BBC’s News at Six – will bring comfort to many people with underlying health conditions who are feeling especially vulnerable during the pandemic.
Alagiah, 64, told his colleague Sophie Raworth: “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 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.”
Alagiah, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer in April 2014 and then again in December 2017, stepped down from presenting duties from the Six O’Clock News studio last month amid advice from doctors and colleagues.
