Collingwood president Jeff Browne has opened up about his battle with cancer as he prepares to tackle the disease head on.
Browne, who is also the father of former Seven AFL reporter Tom Browne, spoke publicly for the first time since the Magpies won the AFL premiership and revealed details about his fight with cancer.
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Browne said he has myeloma, which is a type of blood cancer that develops from plasma cells in the bone marrow, as he prepares to fight the disease and continue living his life.
“I’ve got cancer, but I’m not dying of cancer. I’m living with cancer,’’ Browne told News Corp.
“And I’ve got to kick the f***er sideways because I’ve still got so much more to do.”
Jeff Browne and Magpies coach Craig McRae celebrate the grand final win. Credit: Getty Images
Browne said he is remaining positive and is prepared to undertake whatever treatment is required to cure himself of the disease.
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“I’ve stepped through all of this because I’m a methodical, positive person and I’ll just do what I’ve got to do and, mate, if I have to hit the wall I’ll be hitting it hard.” Browne said.
“I don’t want to have treatments that mean I can play golf twice a week and go to Bali for a holiday every second month … that’s not me.’’
The 72-year-old was shocked when he was told about the cancer diagnosis and was in hospital being treated for pneumonia at the time.
Browne is undergoing chemotherapy twice a week and is coming towards the end of a 10-day radiotherapy program.
Jeff Browne was lucky enough to be part of the premiership post-match celebrations. Credit: AAP
Browne reflects on how emotional he was when he told the Magpies coaches and players about his cancer diagnosis ahead of Collingwood’s preliminary final against the Giants.
“I had to share that with them because we’re all one, we’re all in this,’’ Browne said.
Browne was lucky enough to be part of the premiership post-match celebrations, however he said he “wasn’t great that day.”
Browne is hoping to attend the Bathurst 1000 race on Sunday, where his Walkinshaw Andretti United team will “take on everyone else at the mountain.”
Browne said his life philosophy is to ‘’love your family. Appreciate them. And do as many good things as you can for other people. And die with a smile.’’
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