Sunrise star Edwina Bartholomew reveals cancer diagnosis on-air

“That’s a shock to say”: Seven host Edwina Bartholomew shared some difficult health news with viewers on-air this morning.

Sunrise star Edwina Bartholomew has revealed she’s been diagnosed with cancer.

The news presenter, 41, shared the upsetting news during an emotional segment on Seven’s breakfast program on Friday, telling viewers that she’s been diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia.

“Now, a personal story to finish the bulletin,” Bartholomew said after the 8am news rundown. “I have been diagnosed with cancer. That’s a shock to say, and hard to say. It is a really good kind. It is called chronic myeloid leukaemia. It can be treated with a daily tablet. If I can take care of myself I will be completely fine,” she announced, before breaking down in tears.

Revealing that she was first diagnosed in July, Bartholomew said she wanted to go public for “a couple of reasons.”

“Firstly, because everyone at home has been here for all the wonderful times, for the engagements, and the weddings and the babies, for all of us. It felt right to share this with you too. Many of you have been in similar situations or much, much worse and come out the other side stronger... And more resilient. There’s exactly what I plan to do.”

Bartholomew repeatedly paused to collect herself, telling viewers: “I thought I could keep it together. I will. Secondly, the reason I’m telling you is because after I turned 40 I made the decision to prioritise my health. I got a skin check after Nat had her scare. I had a mammogram after I had a few lumps - that came back all clear. I even had an eye check - that’s fine.

Edwina Bartholomew on Sunrise today

“But my doctor sent me to get routine blood tests at the same time. One of those tests came back with levels out of whack.” She explained that prior to the blood test, she’d experienced no symptoms.

Bartholomew reiterated that she was feeling “very positive” and “lucky” about her prognosis and treatment options.

As her co-hosts expressed their support, the Sunrise team finished the segment with an emotional group hug.

The Sunrise team hug it out.

Afterwards, Bartholomew took to Instagram thanking viewers and loved ones for their support in the wake of the segment.

“This past month has been such a strangely joyous time,” the journalist began a lengthy caption, alongside photos of her two young children Molly and Tom and husband Neil Varcoe.

“The day I got back from having my bone marrow biopsy, Tom insisted on taking the door snake to the park. It made me laugh so much to accompany him down the street with the damn thing flung over his shoulder. It was a lovely reminder that life goes on,” Bartholomew added.

Bartholomew with her children, Molly and Tom.

Young Tom heads to the park with the door snake.

“I have been ocean swimming, dreaming up plans with [Neil] and handing out a lot of hugs,” she concluded.

What is chronic myeloid leukemia?

According to the Leukemia Foundation, Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. The foundation states that each year in Australia, around 330 people are diagnosed with the illness, making it a relatively rare type of cancer.

It is most common in adults over the age of 40, and develops so slowly that many people don’t exhibit any symptoms before the disease is picked up by a routine blood test.

Most people with CML are treated using drugs called tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), which work by putting the cancer in remission and have greatly improved survival rates. The Cleveland Clinic reports that five-year survival rates for those diagnosed with CML are 90%.

Earlier Sunrise cancer announcement

Nat Barr told viewers in June that she was being treated for skin cancer.

Bartholomew’s news comes months after her Sunrise co-star Nat Barr revealed that she was undergoing treatment for skin cancer.

“I had a pimple on my nose that wouldn’t go away, plus I reckon it had been couple of years since I had a skin check, so I went the dermatologist,” Barr told viewers in June, in a segment that showed her attending a clinic to seek treatment.

“He said it was skin cancer — this tiny little dot on my nose. The good thing is I got it really early, and there’s not much treatment,” she said.

“After a biopsy was taken, it did confirm that I had a small skin cancer. The good news, it could be treated non-surgically.”

Longtime Seven star Bartholomew shares two children – Molly, 4, and Thomas, 2 – with her husband of six years, Neil Varcoe.

The couple has been busy working on a passion project in recent months — the renovation of a historic hotel, The Victoria 1846, in Carcoar in NSW’s central west. They plan to open the boutique hotel in 2025.

Varcoe quit his day job last year to move full-time to the country and oversee the restoration, meaning he and his wife have had to live separately throughout the week.

“We had to sell our house in Sydney to do it,” Eddy told the Hosting With Heart podcast about their decision to buy the property.

“My husband had been working in tech for Twitter, so for us, instead of a big mortgage in Sydney, we thought we would invest in a business that we could build for our family.”

Bartholomew with her husband, Neil Varcoe. Picture: Instagram

They share two children. Picture: Instagram

Earlier this year, Bartholomew also opened up about her husband’s years-long battle with chronic fatigue syndrome, and the toll it had taken on them both.

“I think he’s the best he’s been for a number of years just by virtue of having that space to recover – eating healthily, exercising, having a really regimented routine,” she said.

“He’s actually really good, which is fantastic, because for a while he definitely wasn’t and it was challenging for both of us. As a wife, it’s hard to see your husband go through that, and hard for him to miss out on things because he can’t physically be there.”

Meanwhile, Bartholomew is among 40 high-profile Australians who signed on as ambassadors to Witchery’s White Shirt Campaign this year, which raises money for the Ovarion Cancer Research Foundation.

Originally published as Sunrise star Edwina Bartholomew reveals cancer diagnosis on-air