What Blood Cancer Does Anna Have On General Hospital? Her Polycythemia Vera Diagnosis Explained

On the Tuesday, January 13 episode of General Hospital, clever captive Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) managed to get the upper hand on Pascal (Marc Forget) by invoking her health condition, polycythemia vera (PV), and pretending to have collapsed. The heroine was first diagnosed with this rare blood cancer back in 2017. Here’s everything you need to know about PV and how Anna learned that she had it.

The Big C

In February of 2017, Anna — who had been experiencing blinding headaches — collapsed while snooping around Wyndemere. A very worried Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) scooped her up in his arms and rushed her to the hospital, where she soon underwent a bone marrow biopsy. Drs. Griffin Munro (Matt Cohen) and Hamilton Finn (Michael Easton) read over the results and were dismayed. The arrival of Anna’s daughter, physician Robin (Kimberly McCullough), who had moved to Berkeley, CA, the previous year, made Anna yet more anxious as she waited for news about her condition. “Something must be seriously wrong, huh?” she queried with trepidation. Robin acknowledged that a bone marrow biopsy wasn’t “an everyday procedure,” and told her mom it was okay to be scared.

Soon, Finn and Griffin entered Anna’s hospital room, and Griffin revealed that her biopsy had shown that she had PV. “I don’t know what that means,” replied Anna. “I’m not a doctor.” Sighed Griffin, “There’s no easy way to put this, Anna. You have cancer.”

Robin, Finn and Griffin talked Anna through a better understanding of PV, which had previously been categorized as a blood disorder, not a cancer. Griffin noted that while it could affect people of all ages, she was in the age range when it was most commonly diagnosed. Finn added that the blood clot and migraines she had recently experienced were symptoms of PV; the cancer was causing her body to produce an excess amount of red blood cells, which in turn caused a thickening of her blood. “Untreated, it can lead to a heart attack or a stroke,” he cautioned.

The doctors went on to explain that to treat her PV, Anna would get started on a mild blood thinner, then be put on a regular regimen of phlebotomy. “Think of it this way,” said Robin. “You’ll be donating blood on a regular basis.” Anna pointed out that the docs seemed focused on treating the symptoms of the cancer, not curing it. “How do we beat it?” she wondered. Griffin clarified to Anna that while her cancer could be managed, there was no cure for PV. He and Finn assured her that she wasn’t dying, and Finn noted that PV was a chronic condition that could worsen over time.

Digest interviewed Finola Hughes about the storyline at the time, and the actress noted, “It’s interesting to play a strong character who suddenly feels as if she is felled by something.” She shared that as part of her research, she had met with an actual PV patient. “She was very positive in the way that she deals with and sort of attacks her blood cancer on a daily basis and how she marches through it,” Hughes said. “It was great to then apply that to what my character will feel like. And my character does, indeed, face all of that in the first two or three weeks after her diagnosis.”

While Anna’s PV has not been the subject of major GH storyline since her initial diagnosis, it has been mentioned over the years, as when Anna has referenced going to the hospital for phlebotomy appointments. And in November 2022, when Anna was framed by Victor Cassadine (Charles Shaughnessy) for the “murder” of Lucy Coe (Lynn Herring), her PV played a central role in the plan Valentin devised to free her from police custody before her scheduled transfer to Pentonville to await trial. As part of said plan, Valentin had Finn order a phlebotomy appointment for Anna, and the PCPD agreed to take her to the hospital in a prison transport van, accompanied by guards — but Valentin and Sonny arranged for one of Sonny’s (Maurice Benard) men, Dex (Evan Hofer), to be driving the van, allowing her to escape.