The broadcaster has spoken about his ‘brutal’ treatment
A Big Brother and Virgin Radio presenter has revealed his ‘brutal’ treatment for leukaemia and said he hopes future cancer patients will have a better choice that he did.
Jamie East, 52, began his TV career in 2011 presenting Big Brother’s Bit on the Side alongside Emma Willis and Alice Levine and went on present Thronecast on Sky Atlantic with Sue Perkins, Most Haunted Live with Rylan and Celebrity Haunted Hotel Live with Christine Lampard and Matt Richardson.
He joined the Virgin Radio UK team as a 10am to 1pm presenter in 2016 and later joined talkRADIO presenting the afternoon show. He is now a podcaster and journalist working on national projects with ITV and DMG.
Jamie, who started his career in the punk band The Beekeepers, was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia ( CML) in June 2025. He said: “Before my diagnosis, I was honestly the fittest I’d ever been. I was going to the gym regularly and had just run a 10k, but I noticed the glands in my neck were swollen, so I booked a GP appointment.”
After blood tests and a bone marrow biopsy confirmed his diagnosis, Jamie was faced with a decision about his treatment.
“My first reaction was to ask my consultant if I could still go to Glastonbury in a few days, I think I was in shock!” said Jamie. “But I was given a choice between imatinib and dasatinib. My consultant explained both would work, but dasatinib would be quicker and harsher. I felt incredibly vulnerable at that point, so I chose the gentler option.”
While initially effective, Jamie’s treatment had to be changed. “My blood results were on track at first, but then they started to fall out of range, so I was switched to dasatinib. The side effects were brutal at first, constant headaches and a rash, but they settled after a few days.
“It’s good that patients have a choice, but if I’d been told from the start which treatment was best for my specific leukaemia, that’s what I would have done. “
Jamie recently visited a lab where g roundbreaking research funded by Leukaemia UK is uncovering why people diagnosed with CML can respond so differently to treatment, paving the way for more personalised and effective care. CML is a type of blood cancer caused by a genetic abnormality, that drives the uncontrolled production of abnormal white blood cells from stem cells in the bone marrow.
Research led by Professor David Vetrie at the University of Glasgow has identified two distinct types of leukaemic stem cells responsible for the disease. These cells follow different development pathways, like cars traveling to the same destination via different motorway routes. This discovery could help explain why some patients respond well to treatment, while others do not.
Professor Vetrie’s team is now the recipient of the 2025 Leukaemia UK project grant, funding of up to £250,000 to support innovative research aimed at improving outcomes for patients. The team is now advancing this research to develop new, targeted therapies that can specifically target and eliminate these stem cells.
Longer term, this research could transform how CML is managed, ensuring patients receive the therapies that are most likely to work for them from the point of diagnosis.
Jamie visited Professor Vetrie’s lab to see the research first-hand. “Meeting the scientists and seeing the work that’s going on really brought it home. It’s great to see the work being done to improve CML survival as well as finding kinder, better treatments for patients. It’s long-term, but it’s what keeps people like me alive.”
He added: “ If this research can tell patients which path they’re on from day one, that would be incredibly reassuring.”
Simon Ridley, Director of Research and Advocacy, Leukaemia UK, said: “We are delighted to continue supporting Professor Vetrie’s pioneering research into CML, which aims to take targeted treatment to the next level of precision. We are grateful to every single supporter of Leukaemia UK who help us to fund research, in order to accelerate progress and improve the lives of people affected by leukaemia.”
Professor David Vetrie, University of Glasgow: “My research group and I are very grateful to be the recipient of the 2025 Leukaemia UK Project Grant. We are working with exceptionally talented scientists, and the project has great potential to help patients. Our research is now aimed at developing drugs that specifically target the leukaemic cells in different patient groups, so we can improve the outcomes of as many people with CML as possible.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
