Lauren Laverne Discloses Diagnosis of Rare Blood and Bone Marrow Condition

BBC 6 Music presenter and former Kenickie frontwoman Lauren Laverne has announced a diagnosis of a rare blood and bone marrow condition known as smouldering myeloma, which in some cases can progress to blood cancer. The diagnosis was shared via Instagram on Friday, July 17, with Laverne emphasizing that no immediate treatment is required.

“Hey. So – personal news,” she wrote in her post. “I’m quite a private person by nature, but am sharing this as one of the many things I’ve learned after going through health challenges in recent years is that talking about this stuff helps people.”

“I’ve been diagnosed with something called smouldering myeloma (yes that is a weird name and no I’d never heard of it either). It’s an asymptomatic blood and bone marrow disorder that in some people can develop into blood cancer.”

“Thankfully the risk of this happening in my case is pretty low,” Laverne continued. “At the moment I feel OK and don’t need treatment. 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. It has nothing to do with my previous illness or my recent surgery, it’s just one of those things.”

The condition, described as chronic, means her immune system is compromised and requires ongoing monitoring through blood tests, MRIs, and periodic bone marrow biopsies. She expressed gratitude to her colleagues at 6 Music, her family, and her GP for their support.

“I’m taking a couple of weeks holiday and will be back to work as normal after that,” she concluded, adding that she intends to discuss her experiences in detail “soon.”

The diagnosis follows a previous cancer announcement in August 2024, which was detected early and treated successfully, leading to a clear diagnosis by November of that year. Laverne previously reflected on the value of life’s simple moments, stating, “I now see more beauty in ordinary things than I could have imagined, and feel more than ever that the small things in life – the connections we make and care we take with each other – are the big things really.”

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