Veteran Chicago Reporter Derrick Blakley Returns to WBBM After Intensive Cancer Treatment

By Andrew Gauthier 

Reporter Derrick Blakley returned to Chicago’s WBBM on Wednesday after undergoing treatment for multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow.  Blakley, who joined the CBS O&O in 2003, had been on medical leave for the past 14 months.

“I am thrilled to be back at work and back on the air,” Blakley told the Chicago Sun-Times. “Because there is no cure for multiple myeloma, I’m still in treatment, but my progress indicates that there’s great hope for those of us fighting this condition. About 30 years ago, if you got a diagnosis such as this, your life expectancy was no more than three years at the most. But due to research and new drugs, people are living for 10-20 years or longer.”

Blakley, a five-time Emmy Award winner, signed a new contract with the station on Monday.

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