Interview with Craig Coombes of Naked Tuesday dot me

This is an interview I did with Craig Coombes in 2013 at his home in Melbourne for a book I’ve been very slowly putting together on grief.

I’ll include the background of the interview and the book at the end, but since that conclusion will no doubt waffle on for quite a bit (much like the author), let’s dispense with that for now and first get to the subject matter and the man himself.

Craig Coombes received a terminal diagnosis of throat cancer in 2012. Instead of feeling sorry for himself and hiding away from the world, Craig chose a fairly unconventional way of expressing himself and what he was going through.

It’s an approach that’s resonated with thousands of others around the world via social media, and literally millions through his television appearances.

And happily, Craig is witnessing this as he continues to defy the medicos, batting on way past the initial prognosis of his existence.

I started by asking Craig where he was up to at that point, in August 2013.

It started with a diagnosis of laryngitis (as you can tell with this wonderful voice of mine!) Through not improving, and tests, tests, tests, it became, “Sorry, cancer”.

You hear that word, it does change your life completely.

The old thing is that ‘Cancer is a word, not a sentence’. Did they give you hope?

That day they pretty much said it’s a tumour on my vocal chord. And thyroid cancer.

So we’ll do the operation, you’ll have some treatment, and everything will be fine.

It didn’t get fine, did it? Continue reading →