Broadcaster, author, speaker & patient advocate
Kate Harrison is a former BBC correspondent and documentary-maker and the author of 23 novels and non-fiction books, including the bestselling 5:2 series. In 2025 she was treated for aggressive triple-negative breast cancer with surgery, chemo, radiotherapy and the newest treatment, immunotherapy.
The tumour was successfully treated but the process turned her immune system against her own body. She now writes about cancer diagnosis, treatment and the hidden aftermath of recovery, at her Substack, My Big Cancer Plot Twist.
Kate has extensive broadcast and writing experience: she’s appeared on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour and ITV's Lorraine, and her journalism has been published in The Times, The Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the Mirror and the Express, plus countless magazines. She also writes podcasts and has hosted her own, about intermittent fasting.
Topics Kate writes and talks about
As an experienced broadcaster and journalist, I combine lived experience, a sense of humour and a reporter’s eye for facts. These are some of the areas I love to discuss and write about:
Cancer diagnosis as a 50-something woman who was feeling fitter than ever before – until I found a lump in my armpit.
Lived experience of aggressive triple-negative breast cancer.
The unusual diagnosis of ‘occult’ breast cancer that’s never actually found in the breast but in one lymph node.
The reality of a year of treatment, including chemo, surgery, radiotherapy and the newest intervention, immunotherapy. The latter resulted in three critical illnesses and long-term side effects that aren’t reflected by the ‘miracle cure’ headlines.
The physical and emotional reality of life after cancer treatment: the painfully slow recovery, the mental and financial strains and the ways I found to help myself.
Intermittent fasting and 5:2 – a 14-year journey through fasting and feeling good, despite bereavement and health challenges.