Broncos CEO Paul White says ‘I realise how lucky I am’ as he battles brain cancer

BRONCOS boss Paul White says his experience as a police officer and the closeness of his family is helping him battle brain cancer.

Photo at cbus Stadium of Broncos boss Paul White ahead of his appearance on ABC's Australian Story on Monday night. Photo: Richard Gosling

PAUL White thought he was about to die.

The boss of the Brisbane Broncos felt his dreams of walking his four daughters down the aisle were going to be ripped away.

“Having not experienced a seizure before, I thought I was having a heart attack or stroke,” White said of June 30 last year. “I thought I was dying. I thought ‘this is it’. You can’t explain it.”

CEO: White is on the road to recovery

White saw it all during his 17 years as a frontline police officer in some of Queensland’s poorest regions.

Little did he know those experiences would help him through the biggest fight of his life.

The CEO of the Brisbane Broncos features on the ABC’s Australian Story on Monday, where he delves deep into his nine-month battle with brain cancer.

From the moment he suffered a seizure at the Broncos’ administration base at Red Hill to the death of his father Denis, White’s journey has been littered with highs and lows.

But there’s a drive in this 50-year-old that few possess.

“As a young policeman I saw more death than most people in society would get to see,” he said.

“I saw that in small communities. I knew the people involved.

“You can breathe that in and it can be a really stressful thought that eats away at you or you can choose to view your life as something that’s there to be lived because it can be taken away from you like that.

Paul and Angela with their daughters.

“I’ve always lived with a real sense of purpose. I’ve been motivated by achievement and challenge.

“I’m comfortable being uncomfortable. My staff will tell you that.

“If anything it’s given me another spring in my step because I realise how lucky I am.”

The delicate position of White’s tumour means it is inoperable but he prefers to focus on the fact it is low grade and reacting positively to treatment.

He handled his first six months of chemotherapy so well doctors have extended the dose.

“We actually had a celebration the night I was diagnosed with a low grade tumour,” he said.

“When you’re sitting in a cancer clinic you see there’s a lot more people worse off than I am.

“If I can send this tumour into remission, I’ve really done it with a sense of purpose and positive attitude. I’m not prepared to give up.”

Wife Angela has been by his side the whole way and daughters Emily, 24, Madeleine, 23, Molly, 19, and Annabel, 17, are a constant motivation.

“As a dad you think about walking your daughters down the aisle,” White said.

“It’s a bit of a motivation for me. The one thing I don’t want to fail at is being a good father.

“I want to live long enough to see them grow up, get married and hopefully have children of their own.”