CLIVE JAMES – On Losing His Battle With Cancer!
British-based broadcaster Clive James believes he will never return to his native Australia again, after conceding he is losing his fight with cancer!
The critic, poet and writer was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2010, and in a candid interview on BBC’s Radio 4, James reveals he has died nearly four times and is so sick he can’t make the flight to Sydney, the city where he was born Australia.
He said:
“I’ve been really ill for two-and-a-half years. I was diagnosed with leukaemia then I had (lung disease) Copd which is a fancy name for emphysema and my immune system packed up (failed). And that’s just the start. I almost died four times and I swore to myself if I can just get through this winter, I’d feel better. And I got through the winter and here it is a lovely sunny day and guess what, I don’t feel better.
“I’m getting near the end. I’m a man who is approaching his terminus.”
When reflecting on his native home, James added,
“I’ve been so sick I’m not allowed to fly. You couldn’t get enough oxygen aboard a plane to get me to Sydney. I used to be in Australia for five or six times a year but now I can’t go.
“The wistfulness is really building up and I’m facing the possibility I might never see Sydney again.”
The 72-year-old is based in Cambridge, England, and the radio documentary, ‘Meeting Myself Coming Back‘, will air in the U.K. on Saturday, 23rd June, 2012. Don’t miss it!
