BBC newsreader George Alagiah has said having cancer gave him an “advantage” when the pandemic came along.
The 65-year-old, who has bowel cancer which spread to his lungs, liver and lymph nodes, said it meant he was used to dealing with the unpredictable.
He wrote in new book Letters from Lockdown, in which people describe their experiences: “The pandemic presented special challenges for me and thousands of others who are cancer patients.
“But there was one way I felt I had an advantage.
“To have cancer is to live with uncertainty. Every scan brings with it a huge question mark over my life.
"So I’ve learnt to live in the moment, to be content with today. It has helped me to get through these most unpredictable of times.”
George, who has two sons Adam and Matthew with wife Frances, also wrote that he missed the “shared experience of eating together” during lockdowns.
And he said we should be more caring towards one another after the pandemic.
He said: “This pandemic has taught us that we need each other. That’s what being human is – caring for one another – not just here at home but across the world.”
George was first diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2014 and announced it had returned in 2017. He returned to the BBC newsroom in August last year.
He also contracted coronavirus in March last year but “ignored” the virus because it was so mild and he assumed his symptoms were a side effect of his chemotherapy.
The broadcaster said starting every day with a workout helped him cope.
He said: “I’ll jump on the exercise bike and lift a few weights.”
