George Allagia: Cancer will probably get me at some point
Written byTimes Magazine
Newsreader George Allagia says he thinks the cancer he's had since 2014 "may have got me in the end," but he still feels "very lucky." "I don't think I can get rid of this. There's still cancer. It grows very slowly," he said on the Desperate for Wisdom podcast.
Alagiah was first diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer in April 2014. But he said he managed to see back the "great joy" in his life.
In a podcast with former Downing Street communications director Craig Oliver, Alagia said it took her a while to out what to "do" when she was first diagnosed with cancer.
"I had to stop and say, 'Wait a minute.' If the point came now, would my life fail?
The family I had, the opportunities my family had, the great fortune to meet (Francis Robatan) who has been my wife also lover for many years now. Our children are raised not feeling like a failure."
He also spoke about his treatment, saying, "My doctor is very good at beating me up on a big red bus full of drugs from time to time because the whole point of cancer is that it finds its way and ends up catching you.
"Maybe . . . he'll catch me one day. I wish it had been a long time, but I was fortunate."
Alagia has also worked as a foreign correspondent for News and a specialist in Africa and developing countries, covering events such as the Rwandan genocide and interviewing Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
"Know humans"
In October, reporters said he took a break from television to seek treatment after "further spread of cancer" was discovered. In June 2020, he said the cancer had spread to his lungs, liver, and lymph nodes.
When asked what wisdom he would impart, he spoke of the need for people to think more collectively. "I think I'll keep asking myself, 'What can we do together?'" he said.
"I have spent most of my time in Africa, and there is one word in South Africa: Ubuntu. The idea is that I am only human when I see the humanity in you. "There is a collective view of life that I believe we have lost."
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