1
00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:03,960
Speaker 1: Territorians are indeed being urged to support the world's greatest

2
00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:07,120
Speaker 1: shave this month and help raise funds for blood cancer

3
00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:10,960
Speaker 1: support and research. It's a course, it's very close to

4
00:00:11,039 --> 00:00:13,760
Speaker 1: home for one of our own. Our sister station Hot

5
00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:18,119
Speaker 1: one hundred, our Afternoons presenter Jack Cowen, was diagnosed with

6
00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:22,080
Speaker 1: blood cancer at the age of seventeen. In the last

7
00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:25,400
Speaker 1: term of Grade twelve, she learned that she had stage

8
00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:31,120
Speaker 1: four Hodgkins slim fomer and well she did kick cancers,

9
00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:33,479
Speaker 1: but which is wonderful to hear. She joins me in

10
00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:36,880
Speaker 1: the studio right now, Jack, good morning to you.

11
00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:38,400
Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.

12
00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:44,160
Speaker 1: Wolf's swed interviewing. You know, workmates, very special to say

13
00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:44,520
Speaker 1: the lease.

14
00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:45,599
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having me.

15
00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:47,880
Speaker 1: Well, as you know, I'm a big fan of yours,

16
00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:50,239
Speaker 1: so I'm very happy to have you in the studio.

17
00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:52,040
Speaker 1: And Jack, you know, it's something that a lot of

18
00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:55,440
Speaker 1: people probably don't know about you that when you were

19
00:00:55,480 --> 00:01:01,040
Speaker 1: seventeen years old you were indeed diagnosed with stage four

20
00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:04,120
Speaker 1: Hodgkins limp foma. I mean, what was that like for

21
00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:06,040
Speaker 1: you when you're seventeen years old.

22
00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:10,440
Speaker 2: It's tough to think about that period in my life.

23
00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:13,080
Speaker 2: It's also a really weird time in a lot of

24
00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:16,039
Speaker 2: young females lives. If you think about it, you're going

25
00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:20,280
Speaker 2: through so much, you're essentially leaving school, you're taking those

26
00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:23,440
Speaker 2: steps to become an adult. You think about buoys a lot,

27
00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:26,600
Speaker 2: all those kinds of things. So it was, yeah, it's

28
00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:28,800
Speaker 2: a strange time. Plus you've got all the hormones and

29
00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:31,920
Speaker 2: you're a teenager and whatever. But yeah, I had no

30
00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:35,280
Speaker 2: idea that I had blood cancer. I had all the

31
00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,959
Speaker 2: signs and the symptoms, but at that point, my prognosis

32
00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:41,640
Speaker 2: kept getting pushed back, and I think everyone that was

33
00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:45,560
Speaker 2: involved in the situation, including my family and doctors, didn't

34
00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:48,440
Speaker 2: believe that that was the case until it got really

35
00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:52,680
Speaker 2: really serious. So common symptoms for blood cancer patients or

36
00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:56,240
Speaker 2: for a lot of Hodgkins limp fhoma patients is night sweats,

37
00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:02,559
Speaker 2: drastically losing weight, and constantly fatigue. So when I finally

38
00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:04,920
Speaker 2: found out that I was sick, it was through finding

39
00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:08,560
Speaker 2: two massive lymphnodes that had grown over the course of

40
00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,640
Speaker 2: however long I'd been sick in my neck and also

41
00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,200
Speaker 2: my groin, and that's when it was like, Okay, this

42
00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:17,359
Speaker 2: is really serious. And then within two weeks I'd been

43
00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:21,040
Speaker 2: diagnosed with stage four Hodgkins lymphoma.

44
00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:24,680
Speaker 1: Like, what was it like for you at seventeen then,

45
00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:29,400
Speaker 1: you know, having the doctor deliver a diagnosis like that, because,

46
00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,119
Speaker 1: as you said, you're seventeen years old. You know, when

47
00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:34,440
Speaker 1: I was seventeen years old, I was having a lot

48
00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:37,800
Speaker 1: of fun. You know, you're living your best life basically,

49
00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:40,919
Speaker 1: So what was it like for you then when that

50
00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:42,480
Speaker 1: was what they told you?

51
00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:45,440
Speaker 2: It was really tough. And I think it's important to

52
00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:47,639
Speaker 2: also acknowledge the fact that I did end up having

53
00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:51,440
Speaker 2: thirty three rounds of chemo, I relapsed three times, and

54
00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:53,839
Speaker 2: then I had a stem cell transplant, So that went

55
00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:56,560
Speaker 2: over the course of eighteen months. So that was a

56
00:02:56,600 --> 00:03:00,920
Speaker 2: really long journey for a seventeen eighteen year old and

57
00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,560
Speaker 2: I was shook. I didn't understand it. It's kind of

58
00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:08,160
Speaker 2: like a ymy, why is this happening to me? I

59
00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:11,400
Speaker 2: think to be fair, at that point in time, it

60
00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:15,040
Speaker 2: really affected my family and my friends. We're in the

61
00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,880
Speaker 2: last term of grade twelve. My best friends had to

62
00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:20,760
Speaker 2: I was living in Brisbane at the time. They had

63
00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:24,480
Speaker 2: to get assistance with their final exams and whatnot because

64
00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,680
Speaker 2: it was that it was terrifying. It was really really scary.

65
00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:30,399
Speaker 2: But I think if anyone's listening to this right now

66
00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:32,720
Speaker 2: and who's been through a similar diagnosis, you've kind of

67
00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:35,960
Speaker 2: just you've just got to roll with the punches. And yeah,

68
00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,720
Speaker 2: I definitely grew up at that point in time. I

69
00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:41,400
Speaker 2: was forced to grow up real real quick.

70
00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:44,560
Speaker 1: You would have been. And you know, I can say

71
00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:48,560
Speaker 1: that you are, like, you're an absolutely inspirational person. When

72
00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:51,080
Speaker 1: I first learned that you had gone through that as

73
00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:55,839
Speaker 1: a teenager, I mean like I was really surprised, utterly surprised.

74
00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:58,520
Speaker 1: And then I you know, I put myself in the

75
00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,400
Speaker 1: shoes of a mom where I think, oh my goodness,

76
00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:05,880
Speaker 1: I can't even like imagine how that must have been

77
00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:09,560
Speaker 1: for your whole family and for you, Like, you know,

78
00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,520
Speaker 1: you're dealing with that and then dealing with it, you know.

79
00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:15,960
Speaker 1: I know, like as an adult you might think to yourself,

80
00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:18,560
Speaker 1: losing your hair maybe not such a scary thing. As

81
00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:21,880
Speaker 1: a seventeen year old girl, that must have been really

82
00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:23,000
Speaker 1: traumatic for you.

83
00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:26,200
Speaker 2: It was, and it was on the rise with a

84
00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:28,200
Speaker 2: lot of social media as well. I'm kind of that

85
00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:31,880
Speaker 2: generation where Instagram was introduced at that point in time,

86
00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:34,720
Speaker 2: you know, there's so many beautiful people on the Internet

87
00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:38,880
Speaker 2: and what we see on our screens at home, social media, whatever.

88
00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:41,279
Speaker 2: So having that influence was yeah, it was huge. And

89
00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:44,000
Speaker 2: having to lose your hair is something that I don't

90
00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,839
Speaker 2: wish upon anyone that they have to go through that

91
00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:49,160
Speaker 2: journey in order to lose their hair, because it's really

92
00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:51,000
Speaker 2: scary and it's tough.

93
00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:55,159
Speaker 1: And part of your treatment. Unfortunately, you know, it's a

94
00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:57,880
Speaker 1: side effect of that treatment. And from what you've just said,

95
00:04:58,320 --> 00:04:59,520
Speaker 1: how many rounds of chemo?

96
00:05:00,839 --> 00:05:03,400
Speaker 2: And so I relapsed three times, so sick and then

97
00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:06,920
Speaker 2: relapse again, lose all my hair, Yeah, get better, get

98
00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:10,520
Speaker 2: sick again. So yeah, I've lost it a few times.

99
00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:14,360
Speaker 1: You have, And you know, cancer is a real roller

100
00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:17,159
Speaker 1: coaster and going through something like that. I mean, I

101
00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:19,919
Speaker 1: can only speak as somebody who has you know, I

102
00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:23,240
Speaker 1: lost my dad to cancer. I know so many people

103
00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:25,720
Speaker 1: that are listening to the show have gone through their

104
00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:29,719
Speaker 1: own cancer journeys, and it's a real roller coaster. You

105
00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:32,880
Speaker 1: go through these absolute triumphs where you're like I am

106
00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:35,800
Speaker 1: on top of this, and then you have a relapse

107
00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:38,120
Speaker 1: like you've spoken about, and you're back in the depths

108
00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:42,320
Speaker 1: of the lowest of lows. But for you, you've overcome

109
00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:46,279
Speaker 1: this and you've overcome something that's you know, that is

110
00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:50,840
Speaker 1: such a massive thing. Particularly as a teenage girl. I mean,

111
00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:54,120
Speaker 1: you might like you must sort of feel like a

112
00:05:54,279 --> 00:05:56,680
Speaker 1: real badass where you're like I can take on the

113
00:05:56,720 --> 00:05:58,760
Speaker 1: world self pained rock star.

114
00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,159
Speaker 2: So it made me grow up incredibly quick and it

115
00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:04,479
Speaker 2: made me realize the important things in life, you know,

116
00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:07,719
Speaker 2: like my family are everything to me, adventuring, making the

117
00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:11,080
Speaker 2: most of every minute and just having a bloody good time,

118
00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:13,839
Speaker 2: you know, and doing what I can, and also in

119
00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:16,960
Speaker 2: saying that, giving back to people that are going through

120
00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:20,680
Speaker 2: this journey and advocating for people who have any issue

121
00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:23,600
Speaker 2: with cancer, whether they're directly affected by it with their

122
00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:26,600
Speaker 2: own diagnosis or a loved one. We need to support

123
00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:28,400
Speaker 2: each other, We need to talk about it, We have

124
00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:31,160
Speaker 2: to look out for one another because the stats are

125
00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:34,599
Speaker 2: crazy and Australians will be affected whether they like it

126
00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:34,880
Speaker 2: or not.

127
00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:37,800
Speaker 1: Your spot on there and I think that you know,

128
00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:40,120
Speaker 1: this is where the discussion about the world's Greatest shave

129
00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:42,960
Speaker 1: really comes into it as well, and the money that's

130
00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:45,880
Speaker 1: raised and the inroads that have been made as a

131
00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:49,279
Speaker 1: result of that fundraising, because sometimes people think about fundraising

132
00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:51,880
Speaker 1: for you know, different illnesses and they go, oh, well,

133
00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:54,520
Speaker 1: I'm not really sure where that money goes or what happens.

134
00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:57,160
Speaker 1: But the fact is when it comes to cancer research,

135
00:06:57,200 --> 00:07:01,080
Speaker 1: when it comes to blood cancer research, the World's Greatest

136
00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:03,880
Speaker 1: Shave has had an enormous impact, hasn't it in terms

137
00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:08,000
Speaker 1: of progressing that research and the treatment options for people, of.

138
00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:10,680
Speaker 2: Course, And it looks after so many people. The Leukemia

139
00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:14,680
Speaker 2: Foundation on the World's Greatest Shave, and I really get

140
00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:17,760
Speaker 2: behind supporting them. I've worked hand in hand this year,

141
00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:21,440
Speaker 2: especially doing a bunch of marketing stuff for them, and

142
00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:23,640
Speaker 2: they're beautiful. They just want to give back and they

143
00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:26,480
Speaker 2: want to assist these people in whatever way they can do.

144
00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:29,880
Speaker 1: You know how many people every year in Australia are

145
00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:31,280
Speaker 1: impacted by blood cancer?

146
00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:36,080
Speaker 2: Well I did look it up before. I believe one

147
00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:39,120
Speaker 2: in twelve people in their lifetime will be diagnosed with

148
00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:42,480
Speaker 2: a blood cancer, which is crazy when you think about it,

149
00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:48,160
Speaker 2: and I think there's about one hundred and fifty thousand

150
00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:50,720
Speaker 2: people currently living with a blood cancer diagnosis. I could

151
00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:53,800
Speaker 2: be wrong about that, but seventeen people will die alone

152
00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:56,720
Speaker 2: today in Australia from a blood cancer diagnosis jack.

153
00:07:56,920 --> 00:07:59,640
Speaker 1: Is it an illness that does impact a lot of

154
00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:01,840
Speaker 1: young people or is it any age?

155
00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:06,200
Speaker 2: It's very Hodgkins itself is very prominent in young people,

156
00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:10,200
Speaker 2: especially under the age of twenty five, which is just crazy,

157
00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:11,880
Speaker 2: like you don't want to think about that stuff. But

158
00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:15,680
Speaker 2: then there's also non Hodgkins as well, which is very

159
00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:17,880
Speaker 2: common in adults as well, which is sad.

160
00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:21,560
Speaker 1: Now, how can people support the world's greater shave and

161
00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:23,240
Speaker 1: indeed the Lakeimia Foundation.

162
00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:27,720
Speaker 2: Well, they can do a bunch of different things. If

163
00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:31,440
Speaker 2: shaving your noggin for a qre is not your ideal

164
00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:39,360
Speaker 2: situation right out, you can also cut and color your hair.

165
00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:42,560
Speaker 2: So for those of you who might have, you know,

166
00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:44,640
Speaker 2: like a really long do and you've been sporting it

167
00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:46,280
Speaker 2: for a very long time, you can cut it. You

168
00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:48,800
Speaker 2: can get a bob that's bold in itself, you don't

169
00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:50,920
Speaker 2: have to fully get rid of it. You can also

170
00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:54,480
Speaker 2: color it. You can color your mustache. M Well, that's

171
00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:56,320
Speaker 2: the same thing, isn't it your beard? I should say,

172
00:08:57,080 --> 00:08:59,480
Speaker 2: But there's so many ways that you can get behind it.

173
00:08:59,679 --> 00:09:03,439
Speaker 2: There currently thirty people in the NT shaving their heads

174
00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:07,720
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty five. However, there are eighty seven hundred

175
00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:10,120
Speaker 2: and three people in Australia participating.

176
00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:11,200
Speaker 1: How awesome.

177
00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:12,960
Speaker 2: Yeah, this is my friends.

178
00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:15,439
Speaker 1: It's one of my beautiful friends, Kate Killiner. I'm pretty

179
00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:19,000
Speaker 1: sure that she's actually shaving her head. You got any

180
00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:19,800
Speaker 1: plans to do it again?

181
00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:20,040
Speaker 2: Jack?

182
00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:22,040
Speaker 1: I mean, you've lost your hair on a number of occasions.

183
00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:23,160
Speaker 1: I think you've done your bit.

184
00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:25,480
Speaker 2: I have, but I've also I'm going to toot my

185
00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:28,560
Speaker 2: horn here because i do love to shave my noggin

186
00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:31,760
Speaker 2: from time to time. I've done it in twenty twelve,

187
00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:36,280
Speaker 2: twenty eighteen, twenty twenty two. I've got three weddings coming up,

188
00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:38,320
Speaker 2: so please excuse me. I'm going to keep this mop

189
00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:40,719
Speaker 2: for now and then next year. I'm going to do

190
00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:42,080
Speaker 2: it next year.

191
00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:44,120
Speaker 1: You and you're such a legend.

192
00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:45,439
Speaker 2: Wrangle some of the rest of the career.

193
00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:49,679
Speaker 1: Good idea, Good idea, well, Jack. If anybody's after any info,

194
00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:51,480
Speaker 1: where's the best place for them to hit?

195
00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:55,439
Speaker 2: Jump online look up World's Greatest Shave via their website

196
00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:58,360
Speaker 2: if you do need more information. As we said before,

197
00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:01,800
Speaker 2: the Leukemia Foundation are in incredible They're there to support

198
00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:06,480
Speaker 2: people affected by leukemia and all lymphomas of sorts. So

199
00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:09,040
Speaker 2: reach out to them. They're a really, really, really great cause.

200
00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:13,720
Speaker 1: Well Jack Cowan, my beautiful friend, my fellow work colleague,

201
00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:17,120
Speaker 1: all round legend. Lovely to have you in this studio

202
00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:17,760
Speaker 1: this morning.

203
00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:19,760
Speaker 2: Thank you. Don't wait to shave your head, Katie.

204
00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:21,360
Speaker 1: Thank you,