NZ radio host and TV personality Mel Homer diagnosed with cancer

Kiwi radio host and television personality Mel Homer has been diagnosed with cancer.

The Breeze host has acute myeloid leukaemia, a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, which was discovered during routine blood tests last week.

Homer is a former presenter of TV morning show The Café and Celebrity Treasure Island contestant. She currently hosts The House of Wellness on The Breeze, a weekly show which discusses health and wellbeing topics.

Homer’s employers shared the news on Facebook today, saying “She had no symptoms, so it has come as quite the shock. It is treatable, and she will be starting her first round of aggressive chemotherapy this week”.

“Because the treatment will take away her immune system, it needs to be very controlled so she will be in hospital for a month - and then in and out of hospital for probably five months after that.”

The radio host will start chemotherapy this week and says she is "ready to tackle this head on". Photo / Facebook

Homer lives in Auckland with her husband of 25 years Andy Pilcher. The couple have three grown-up sons.

Through the radio station Homer shared she was “feeling fighting fit and ready to tackle this head on”.

“I am focusing on the positive and am looking forward to saving on shampoo when I lose my hair in about two weeks time.

“If anyone needs a cancer influencer, I’m your gal. And look out for the book I’ll most definitely write after this experience.”

In April, Homer shared that working in the media has given her a layer of resilience, telling New Zealand Woman’s Weekly: “I’ve learned that while I’m not a big fan of change, I am good at learning to pivot if something isn’t working out. Someone recently called me a hustler and I think that’s fair.”

Homer had ankle surgery earlier in the year to repair ligaments she tore while on a trip to Queenstown in 2024.

Last year the broadcaster shared with New Zealand Woman’s Weekly that she has hypermobility syndrome, a condition where joints are excessively flexible, allowing them to move past the normal range of motion.

“Having hypermobility makes you clumsy, which I am,” she told the magazine.

“I damaged my hip again after slipping on a footpath when I returned from Celebrity Treasure Island, then a few months ago, I broke my ankle after falling over literally nothing. I’m a very active person and I love adventures.”

The Breeze said they were “all wishing Mel all the best as she embarks on this battle - we are right behind her”.