She continued: “It is a chronic condition – no cure yet – and it does mean my immune system is a bit compromised, so I will need to take good care of myself and I will be carefully monitored with blood tests, MRIs and bone marrow biopsies (which I have recently discovered are even less fun than they sound).<\/p>\n
“It’s been a lot, especially coming less than two years after my last diagnosis, but l know that seeing others in the public eye cope with comparable situations has helped me, so I thought I’d be upfront about it.”<\/p>\n
She also thanked her doctor. “This is the second Big Problem my GP has caught early and it is frankly impossible to adequately express my gratitude,” she wrote.<\/p>\n
“I was pretty blas\u00e9 about my persistently low iron levels but he insisted we get to the bottom of what was going on.<\/p>\n
“My message to others would be: be like him, not me! Advocate for yourself if you need to and ask to see a haematologist if you are in the same situation.”<\/p>\n
Laverne said she is now taking a couple of weeks’ holiday and “will be back to work as normal after that”.<\/p>\n
She added: “For now lots of love, especially to anyone dealing with similar issues. LL xx”<\/p>\n