Sports club, school community rally around Ollie Miles as he fights rare form of leukaemia

A rare cancer which started with a severe headache is not enough to stop rising Queensland sporting star Ollie Miles from pushing on to achieve his dreams. Read his inspirational story

Yeppoon's Ollie Miles is not letting a rare form of leukaemia stop him from chasing his dreams.

A sporty teenager buying a set of golf clubs may seem nothing out of the ordinary but for Ollie Miles the purchase symbolises his perseverance and positivity.

Those are the traits that have shone through in the Central Queensland teenager’s ongoing battle with a rare and aggressive form of leukaemia.

A rising Aussie rules star who plays with the Yeppoon Swans, Ollie was diagnosed on November 11 last year with Philadelphia chromosome-positive.

The genetic anomaly, discovered about a decade ago, has been found in fewer than 150 children in Australia, the USA, UK and a number of other countries.

Yeppoon teenager Ollie Miles has bought a set of golf clubs during his leukaemia treatment.

What started with Ollie suffering a severe headache progressed to an urgent flight to Brisbane with the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Once the reverberations from the shock diagnosis started to settle, Ollie’s father Clint knew his youngest son was up for the challenge.

“He accepted it and immediately went to a ‘what’s next’ mentality and has faced this fight head-on,” he said.

Ollie started on a daily regime of chemotherapy, including on Christmas Day, and has undergone some of the most intense treatment available.

Ollie Miles, 16, is battling a rare and aggressive form of leukaemia.

Ollie has had four months of chemo, and started 10 weeks of radiation therapy in early April.

In a testament to his character, he chose to continue with the treatment, despite the intense pain from radiation-induced acute mucositis, a condition that causes 70 percent of patients to withdraw.

Incredibly, his brother Ari was a perfect DNA match for a bone marrow transplant, with the likelihood of that being just 15 percent.

Ari donated 1800ml of bone marrow, which significantly helped his treatment.

Just as Ollie has inspired so many with his amazing mindset, he has drawn strength from the steadfast support of his family and friends, the Swans’ community and the St Brendan’s College fraternity.

Ollie Miles is a student at St Brendan's College in Yeppoon.

He is firmly focused on recovery and the future.

He recently bought some golf clubs after learning his friends were taking up the sport and, driven by his competitive spirit, has already booked some lessons to ensure he is fully prepared to take them on in a game when the time is right.

As chance would have it, when buying the clubs, Ollie encountered someone who had travelled a similar medical journey.

This serendipitous meeting helped reinforce his belief that what he needs comes to him when he focuses on his goals.

Clint describes Ollie as one in a million, a person who always pushes harder than anyone else.

Ollie Miles has played all of his junior Aussie rules with the Yeppoon Swans and made his A-grade debut in 2023.

That determination has helped him succeed in everything he’s set his mind to, including his beloved Aussie rules.

Ollie played with the Yeppoon Swans’ under-15 team in 2023 and also made his A-grade debut, going on to earn selection in the Gold Coast Suns Academy.

He has been part of the club since he was five, endearing himself to everyone involved.

Club president Peter Watkins said he was a much-loved member who was not only a skilful footballer but a “good, honest and respectful kid”.

Peter was instrumental in the club setting up a GoFundMe page for Ollie, which has raised almost $98,000.

St Brendan's College students Guy Gibson, Cruz Leahy, Rylan Schmidt, Jasper Jansen and Riley Eyles taking part in Shave for a Cure, which raised almost $16,000.

The St Brendan’s community also came together in a display of solidarity, raising nearly $16,000 in its Shave for a Cure event this month.

The initiative was organised to support not only Ollie but other students who have battled cancer.

St Brendan’s Head of Year 11 Niamh Timlin praised Ollie’s determination.

“Ollie is an exceptional young man whose personal drive is truly remarkable,” she said.

“His teachers have gone above and beyond, providing work online and making themselves available after hours to support him.

“We eagerly await the day we can welcome him back onto school grounds.”

Ollie Miles is described as an “exceptional young man”.

Principal Robert Corboy expressed his pride in the students, saying the school strived to educate its boys to become well-rounded and grounded young men.

“The genuine, unscripted support our students have shown the Miles family highlights the strong brotherhood they share,” he said.

“Seeing them step up in such a heartfelt way truly makes our St Brendan’s community proud. The support hasn’t only been shown by students but by staff as well.

“The SBC community always rallies around their own, and they are doing it again.”