Lauren Laverne opens up about 'tricky' health struggles weeks after blood disorder diagnosis

Lauren Laverne has opened up about the “tricky” few years that have seen her facing some major health struggles including a cancer diagnosis, alongside the death of her parents.The radio presenter, 48, lost her father Leslie in 2018 and her mother Celia in 2022. Two months after her mother’s death, Laverne was diagnosed with the same unspecified form of cancer, with the presenter revealing in July this year that she has a blood and bone marrow disorder.Appearing on the Outsiding podcast hosted by Caitlin Moran and Adam Frost, Laverne revealed that she’d turned to gardening as a form of “therapy” over “the last few years”.“My garden’s been massive therapy for me. I mean, I’ve had a tricky time over the last few years, and so I’ve spent more and more and more time outside. I think the older I’ve got, the more I’ve needed that time outdoors… That’s where we work things out, we figure things out.”Laverne was recently diagnosed with a blood and bone marrow disorderOutsiding/YouTubeLaverne then explained: “So in the past eight years, I lost my mam and dad, they both died. And then I got cancer, and [have] been through lots of different health challenges with recovery and things like that. It’s been really important to have the garden, I’ve spent more and more time out there.”The Desert Island Discs host first announced that she’d been diagnosed with cancer in August 2024 – the condition her mother died from in 2022 – and following treatment was given the all-clear in November that year.The trio then talked about the importance of getting outside for recovery, with Laverne telling Moran and Frost: “I was in hospital when I had cancer, for a month. It was this time of year, so I was looking out onto this heatwave.”I was right in this big hospital in London, looking out into a big park and I couldn’t feel it. I just remember thinking, ‘God, I’ve been the same temperature for weeks and weeks and weeks, the artificial light and everything, it’s very strange.”Laverne opened up about the ‘therapeutic’ power of gardening after her health strugglesOutsiding/YouTubeAs a result of spending so much time cooped up during her treatment, Laverne explained that she “just wanted to be outside” when she was done.“If you’re going through something really difficult – maybe you’ve had a diagnosis or you’ve lost someone or something like that – and then you go to a party, you feel like you’re really out of place, obviously, because the party is the place where everybody’s supposed to be having fun.“But the funny thing about being outdoors and outside, especially in gardens, is that they meet you wherever you are.”Read More