Outgoing Collingwood president Jeff Browne is the new chairperson of Myeloma Australia

Jeff Browne will stand down from the Collingwood presidency in December, ready to embark on a new challenge that hits close to home – and one that could help thousands of Australians.

Outgoing Collingwood president Jeff Browne is the new Chairperson of Myeloma Australia and has vowed to stay in the role until a cure is found.

Browne was diagnosed with the aggressive form of blood cancer in August 2023, but is now in remission and ready to “turbocharge” a campaign to raise at least $100m across the next 10 years for research.

He will stand down from the Magpies’ presidency in mid December, but told the Herald Sun he was as energised as ever to chase crucial funding from government and businesses for “game-changing” treatments.

And he’s set himself an initial target of $40m within the first year.

“We will find a cure in my reign as chairman of Myeloma Australia,” Browne said in an exclusive interview. “I will stay there until it happens.”

“I’ve got skin in this game. I’ve been living with myeloma now for a year.

“I’m going to use my skills, experience and my network to help drive the agenda towards finding a cure.

“There are 22,000 Australians living with myeloma and the growth rates in diagnosis have grown more than 30 per cent in recent years.

“A cure is within reach, but we need to act now.”

Outgoing Collingwood president Jeff Browne and chief executive officer of Myeloma Australia Mark Henderson. Picture: Michael Klein

Myeloma arises from malignant plasma cells in the bone marrow that can weaken the immune system, cause bone destruction and reduce kidney function.

It has the lowest life expectancy of all the blood cancers, with only 55 per cent of myeloma patients expected to live beyond five years from diagnosis.

It has no federal government funding, but Browne is determined to change that.

At a recent AFL finals match, he had a discussion with Health Minister Mark Butler about how a financial commitment could save lives through groundbreaking T-cell therapies.

“I said to him (Butler), ‘How come all the money that is made available for blood cancers is actually given to leukaemia?’,” Browne explained.

“I said, “What about myeloma? It’s having a big effect on people and it has had an effect on me, and it gets absolutely no government funding’.

“To his credit, he said ‘come and see me and we will have a talk about it’. That will be one of my first jobs (as chairperson).’”

Mark Henderson, who is chief executive of Myeloma Australia – a self-funded charity aimed at raising awareness and supporting myeloma patients, including providing specialist nurses – said Browne would make a significant difference in the fight for funding.

“We are on a path to finding a cure,” Henderson said. “That path will require significant research investment over the next 10 years – $100m to be exact. Jeff’s appointment to the board gives us the capacity and leadership to achieve this north star.”

Browne and coach Craig McRae embrace after Collingwood’s 2023 grand final win. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos

Browne, who responded well to chemotherapy treatment without the need for a bone-marrow transplant, has been inspired by the people he has met on his myeloma journey, including his treating professor, Simon Harrison, who told him that a cure could be found.

“We need to be powerful advocates for significant change in the funding for medical research and to promote medical research to the point where it has a far greater impact on people’s lives,” Browne said.

“If we can’t do that, a lot of people are going to die unnecessarily and I have got to do something about that.

“I am not doing this for myself; I am doing it for the community and the families of the community who are myeloma patients in Australia.

“If I can play a very small part in energising the effort to convince government of the proposition of the investment, support the professionals who work at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, and even get around the world and bang the drum and create greater public awareness and the case for funding to help find a cure … that’s what I will do.”

Browne says he will find a cure during his reign. Picture: Michael Klein

He said there had been a “huge transformation” in myeloma treatment from traditional chemotherapy to T-cell therapy, but more money for research was urgently required.

“(With chemo) they blast you and (let you) sit around and have a bit of quality of life and wait for it to come back,” he said.

“(Immunotherapy) is where they extract T-cells from your body, manipulate them in a laboratory and teach those T cells to fight cancer and put them back in your body.

“We have an immediate need because we are actually producing T-cells in the new facilities we have at Peter Mac.”

Browne will travel to the US next year to “investigate further research they are doing outside of Australia in relation to T-cell therapy.”

“We live in the best country in the world but we are falling behind in relation to medical research,” he said. “I was shocked to find that.”

“Peter Mac is world class. But it is the lack of government support for research programs that have measurable outcomes … and this one does have one.”

Browne receives “monthly maintenance” while he is in remission, but feels rejuvenated by the fight for myeloma funding.

“I feel pretty healthy,” he said. “I am still out there having a go.”

“I don’t want to be playing golf four days a week or going off to Bali. I want to be out there banging on doors (chasing funding).

“I am not used to not getting results.”

Originally published as Outgoing Collingwood president Jeff Browne is the new chairperson of Myeloma Australia