Classical music station WBJC host Mark Malinowski will be ‘out of commission’ for several weeks for bone marrow transplant

Darcy Costello, Baltimore Sun
·2 min read

Mark Malinowski, morning host for classical music station WBJC-FM, will be off the airwaves for several weeks this summer for a bone marrow transplant at Johns Hopkins Hospital, he announced this week.

The 91.5 FM host said in a post on the station’s website that after feeling poorly last November, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. He is now in remission, following treatments, and able to get the transplant.

“It is a long procedure,” Malinowski said, “and will take me out of commission for the entire month of July, and the first part of August. Believe me when I tell you that I would much rather be in the studio every morning sharing the world’s greatest music with you, but I need to do this so that I can continue to share that great music with you in the coming years.”

He thanked listeners for the support they’ve shown over the years and said he would be back “just as soon as possible.”

In an email, Malinowski said he’d received “quite a few” supportive notes from listeners and praised the hospital staff working to treat him, calling them “spectacular” and very efficient.

He said Monday he was feeling good so far and has responded well to treatment.

“Quite frankly, I don’t want to make a big production out of this. What I am dealing with is minor compared to some of the other things going on with people with cancer,” he said. “I’m in good spirits and my wife and son are taking good care of me at home.”

Malinowski’s website bio says he is a Detroit native who was studying music until his draft number was called. In the U.S. Navy, it said, he served as a broadcast journalist with the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service. He also worked as a newspaper editor, photographer and public affairs officer, it said.

It adds he enjoys video games, especially the “Sword and Sorcery games,” plays piano “poorly” and writes “bad poetry.” He’s a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, it said, and enjoys chess.