A popular radio host announced his heartbreaking cancer diagnosis live on air.
Mix 102.3’s Ali Clarke, who co-hosts Max & Ali in the Morning with Max Burford, revealed to listeners on Tuesday that she will be taking a break from the show while she undergoes treatment.
“It was important to tell our listeners because I have had the privilege of being trusted with their stories and I trust them with mine,” he explained.
“I also know that many of our listeners have experienced cancer or know someone who has… Worse still, there will be many people who may have heard this this morning or who are reading this who have lost a loved one to this terrible disease. I have thought a lot about their loss over the past few weeks.”
Ali then asked one of his co-hosts to hold his hand before bravely making the devastating announcement.
“But the long and short of it is that I’m having a full mastectomy, which, if you’re playing at home, means I’m going to have one of my breasts removed. And if I’m honest, that part has probably been a lot more confronting than I ever imagined it would be,” she continued.
“I thought it was very small and manageable, but I found a lot of small cancers. That means I’m having a pretty big surgery this week and I’ll have to take some time off to recover, as you can imagine.”
“You know, I’ve never worn casual clothes, I’ve never shown my breasts off. They’ve been absolutely functional for me. In fact, when I was little, they almost prevented me from playing sports.”
Ali Clarke, co-host of Mix 102.3’s Max & Ali in the Morning with Max Burford, revealed on Tuesday that she will be taking a break from the show while she undergoes treatment for breast cancer.
The radio host then burst into tears as she opened up emotionally about “losing a part” of herself.
“I’ve really struggled with myself, between being angry at myself and feeling almost vain for having lost a part of myself,” Ali added.
“But when I sit back and try to reason with it, I’m about to lose a part of me that society has always told me actually makes me a woman and that it’s absolutely necessary, and the other, bigger part of my brain knows that this is actually what needs to happen for me to be good.”
Despite the heartbreaking diagnosis, Ali admitted that he is “very lucky” with the quality of medical care he has received so far.
Ali then asked one of his co-hosts to hold his hand before bravely making the devastating announcement.
The radio host burst into tears as she opened up emotionally about “losing a part” of herself.
According to the Adelaide AdvertiserTwo women have already been approached to fill Ali’s role while she is on leave.
In January, morning radio show Ali’s Mix 102.3 underwent a major change following reports that The Kyle and Jackie O Show’s rumoured expansion to Adelaide would see it cancelled.
The show will be renamed from The Ali Clarke Breakfast Show to Max & Ali in the Morning after Max Burford joined the team last year.
In January, Ali’s Mix 102.3 morning radio show underwent a major change following rumours that The Kyle and Jackie O Show was expanding to Adelaide and then being cancelled. Pictured: Ali Clarke (right) and Max Burford
Burford, who is also a presenter on Channel Ten in Adelaide, has brought his knowledge of sport and local news to the team.
The full team now consists of hosts Clarke and Burford, along with Shane Lowe and Eddie Bannon.
In August 2023, Mix 102.3 managed to top the radio ratings survey in Adelaide with 376,000 weekly listeners.
Ali Clarke’s show garnered an 11.2 per cent audience share, making it the second most popular breakfast show in Adelaide.
