Friday, October 24, 2025 - CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour has disclosed that the ovarian cancer she was battling has returned, after she was first treated it in 2021.
The 67-year-old veteran journalist has been off the air on
the US broadcaster for the past month.
Amanpour has now explained her absence, sharing that her
cancer has returned in “fairly rare” form, before she went on to encourage
other women to “listen to your body” and get checked.
“I have it again, but it’s being very well-managed, and this
is one of the whole things that people have to understand about some cancers,”
she said on the Changing the Ovarian Cancer Story podcast.
She continued: "I decided when I got back in front of
the camera after four weeks — which included the surgery and a couple of weeks
of recuperation before I started chemotherapy — I decided to say something
because I actually wanted to do a service.
"Not just to my viewers, but also to those who might be
in a similar situation and I wanted to say what had happened to me.
“I wanted to say listen to your body because part of the
reason I got such quick care was because I listened to my body and went
straight to the doctors.”
Amanpour, who was joined on the podcast by gynecology
oncology consultant Dr Angela George, explained that her current cancer has
been diagnosed as "stage 1/2" which means it’s in its first stage but
had “adhered to the pelvis”.
“Angela told me what it was and why I was potentially lucky
because there were actually pain symptoms,” explained Amanpour. “There’s often
no symptoms so many women don’t know, so I feel that I was lucky.”
Amanpour, who is the US broadcast network’s leading
international correspondent after joining CNN in 1983, first revealed she was
being treated for ovarian cancer in 2021, when she told viewers she had
undergone surgery. She also shared at the time that she was preparing for a
round of chemotherapy treatment.
“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 time.
The anchor, who had been off the air in the weeks prior,
pointed out that ovarian cancer is all too common, affecting “millions of women
around the world.”
She added that she felt “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
added: “I’m telling you this in the interest of transparency but in truth
really mostly as a shoutout to early diagnosis.”
The reporter explained 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.”
0 Comments