She initially kept the situation completely private.

Australian radio star Jackie ‘O’ Henderson has revealed she quietly endured a terrifying health ordeal earlier this year, one that left her medical team convinced she might have leukaemia.

The 50-year-old host opened up during Wednesday’s episode of The Kyle & Jackie O Show, telling co-host Kyle Sandilands that a routine blood test had triggered weeks of alarm behind the scenes.
Jackie O Henderson attends the AO Inspirational Series lunch to celebrate women's semifinal day at the Australian Open on January 25, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. Elle Macpherson was the special guest speaker at the event held close to Melbourne Park and Evonne Goolagong Cawley was also honoured for her 50th anniversary since winning the Australian Open.(Credit: Getty)
“They actually thought I had a blood cancer” Jackie told listeners, explaining that she initially kept the situation completely private.

“These things came up on the blood test where they actually thought I had a blood cancer, leukaemia,” she told a stunned Kyle, who admitted it was the first he’d heard of the scare.

Jackie said she hadn’t shared it earlier because “I didn’t want to mention it because I was a bit nervous.”

Her doctors, she explained, were so concerned by specific blood markers that she was sent for a bone marrow biopsy, a test generally ordered when specialists believe the likelihood of a blood cancer is high.

“They were really quite sure that I had it,” she said. “They basically said with these markers it really is [cancer], pretty much.”
kyle and jackie o(Credit: Instagram)
Despite the alarming indicators, Jackie eventually got results showing no cancer had developed.

“I went to the blood expert — the haematologist,” she said. “I got my bone marrow and it came back all clear and she said: ‘I actually don’t know. I’ve never seen this before, where someone has these high white cell counts.’”

The underlying cause of the abnormal results remains unknown, but Jackie emphasised to listeners: “No, I don’t [have cancer]. That was a while ago.”

Even with the all-clear, the radio host revealed she is still undergoing further checks, including a colonoscopy scheduled for Thursday.

She described it as a precautionary “triple measure,” though she admitted the preparation process had her feeling nervous.

“The fasting and the prep that you have to do — I’ve been warned is pretty horrific when it comes to going to the toilet,” she said, asking Kyle, a self-described “colonoscopy veteran,” for reassurance.

Instead, he offered a trademark graphic warning, describing a “forced evacuation… with no notice,” sending the studio into uncomfortable laughter.
jackie o(Credit: Instagram)
This is the latest in several serious medical incidents Henderson has shared publicly. In 2023, she was rushed to hospital with what appeared to be a heart attack, which was later diagnosed as an infection.

That same year, she found a lump in her breast before a photo shoot and underwent an urgent mammogram, with the results later coming back clear.

Last October, she also opened up about a long struggle with substance dependence, saying she sought help and made significant lifestyle changes.

Despite everything, Jackie O assured listeners she is feeling well, just cautious.

“It’s all good,” she said. “I’ll have the colonoscopy as a triple measure.”