Former world darts champion diagnosed with rare blood cancer

Former world darts champion and broadcaster Mark Webster has revealed he has been diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer and is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

The 42-year-old, from St Asaph in north Wales, was diagnosed in January with hairy cell leukaemia, a rare chronic blood cancer that mainly affects middle-aged adults.

Despite the seriousness of the condition, Webster has sought to reassure supporters, highlighting the positive outlook for many patients.

“It sounds bad when you say leukaemia but…it's got a good prognosis, 95% of cases are successful,” Webster said in an interview.

He added that recovery has not progressed as quickly as expected.

“I will be put into some sort of remission at some point but just the recovery at the minute is not going to plan in terms of the speed of it.”

Webster, who won the 2008 BDO World Championship, has been absent from television coverage since February and works as a commentator and analyst for Sky Sports and ITV.

However, medical advice has prevented him from returning to work due to his weakened immune system.

“My white blood counts are still not recovering, so therefore my immune system is not great at the minute, hence why I can't go back to work,” he explained.

Although he feels physically well at times, Webster admitted the situation has been frustrating.

“In myself I feel fine and I would love to go back to work, but they don't like the environment I work in,” he said.

“At the minute it's a case of doing as I'm told and being patient. It's frustrating because I like to be busy, but hopefully it won't be too much longer.”

He added: “It's not the worst case sort of scenario, but it's just a bit frustrating for me.”