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Veteran Cable News Network (CNN) chief international anchor, Christiane Amanpour, on Monday told viewers that she has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Amanpour, 63, who is one of the best-known journalists in the world, due to her fearless coverage of international conflicts has been off the air for the past four weeks due to the diagnosis.
“I’ve had successful major surgery to remove it, and I’m now undergoing several months of chemotherapy for the very best possible long-term prognosis, and I’m confident,” Amanpour said at the beginning of her daily television programme on Monday.
In her on-air announcement, Amanpour pointed out that ovarian cancer is all too common, affecting “millions of women around the world.”
Anchoring from her home in London, Amanpour said she feels “fortunate to have health insurance through work and incredible doctors who are treating me in a country underpinned by, of course, the brilliant NHS.”
After speaking about her surgery and chemotherapy, Amanpour said: “I’m telling you this in the interest of transparency but in truth really mostly as a shoutout to early diagnosis.”
She said she wanted to “urge women to educate themselves on this disease; to get all the regular screenings and scans that you can; to always listen to your bodies; and of course to ensure that your legitimate medical concerns are not dismissed or diminished.”
Amanpour also thanked the staff of her programme and Bianna Golodryga, CNN’s senior global affairs analyst, who filled in for her in the past four weeks.
“You’re not only one of the best journalists in the business, you’re also one of the toughest. Wishing you a speedy and healthy recovery in the weeks ahead. No doubt you’ll end up on top,”Golodryga wrote on Twitter.
With months of chemotherapy treatments ahead, Amanpour anticipates anchoring Mondays through Wednesdays for the time being. She also has three weeks of previously scheduled time off starting at the end of June.
Reacting, CNN Worldwide president, Jeff Zucker, wished Amanpour a full recovery.
“I want to applaud Christiane Amanpour for her candor, bravery and always working towards the greater good. As a cancer survivor, I too encourage people to listen to their bodies and get all early cancer screenings available to them. From our CNN family, we wish Christiane the very best for a full and speedy recovery,” Zucker said in a statement.
Amanpour has been a longtime news figure at CNN, almost from its launch in the early 1980s. She worked there from 1983 to 2010, then left for a brief stint at ABC News, where she anchored This Week.
She returned to CNN in 2012.