EFL 2019: Rowville coach John Brown opens up on cancer fight
When Rowville coach John Brown injured himself in the gym and had to get stitches, he never thought it would end up in a cancer diagnosis. He talks candidly about the depths he got to, and his important health message for men.
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John Brown is a fit and healthy 48-year-old.
He is a gym junkie and invests in his wellbeing.
Looking at him, you would think he could run a marathon.
But a cancer diagnosis in September last year flattened him harder than any shirtfront he received over his 150-game career.
The Rowville coach has privately been dealing with the disease for the past 10 months while juggling duties at the EFL Premier Division club.
“I’m pretty resilient, I’m pretty strong. I am a fighter. But when you find out you’ve got cancer, my God, mentally I became really fragile,” Brown said.
“I was pretty emotional. I went for a drive after I was told. I just needed some fresh air and I can remember it vividly. I jumped in my car from the phone call … I drove up to SkyHigh, Mount Dandenong and I just overlooked Melbourne and had a bit of a cry.
“I had my little pity party up there and the good thing was you just bring things back into perspective that I’ve got three kids and I’ve got family I know I can turn to.”
A gym accident in September last year may have helped save his life.
Brown required three stitches after a weight fell on his head.
“Seven days later I went in to have them out and my GP said, ‘Let’s log this in so it’s diarised’.
“Right at the moment, she said I never came back for my annual blood tests I did in March.
“She said I had some interesting results … she goes, ‘Your PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) levels were quite high’.
“Your PSA is how they measure your prostate.
“Mine had come through, I think I was sitting at 4.2 and for my age bracket I should have been something like 2.5.”
Brown underwent immediate blood tests and received a dreaded phone call three days later.
“They had gone up again,” he said.
“There were a few alarm bells … that was last September rolling into October last year.
“A bit of panic starts to come in because you’re thinking the worst.
“In hindsight, I was very fortunate with where I’m at now that I actually cut my head open to identify it early days.”
An MRI test, ultrasounds and radiation X-ray failed to find any cancer, but doctors had to determine why his PSA levels had increased to 6.0.
“It really escalated,” Brown said.
“That plays with your mind a fair bit. It’s like, ‘Oh shit, this is real’.”
The Templestowe premiership mentor had to wait for a biopsy to reveal the worst.
“My urologist called me two days later and it was a massive moment. I was beside myself when he said, ‘Look, they’ve found a 2mm cancer cell’,” he said.
“Unfortunately I was going through a marriage separation, too, in October, November last year, so it was a real compound of things.”
A second biopsy in May showed the cancer remained in the prostate, but it had become more aggressive and there was the chance it could spread.
All this while he was trying to maintain Rowville’s standing in the top five and setting the club up for a chance at its first finals win in the EFL’s top flight.
Brown said he was left with little alternative but to have his prostate removed.
“Going back to the footy analogy that the urologist said … to put it in really good terms, I was 15m out directly in front,” he said.
“The doctor goes, ‘If we take the prostate out now, it will be 100 per cent recovery but if you wait 18 months, you might be 30m out on a slight angle and we’re likely to get it out and you’ll recover OK but the percentages change.
“He goes, ‘You wait five years, you might be 45m out on the boundary and it’s hit and miss’.
“It was a great analogy to say, it was a no-brainer. I’m 15m out directly in front, take the shot and get it out.”
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Brown said his age and fitness would allow him to make a full recovery.
“The thing was, if the cancer spread, potentially I could die,” he said.
“I could either make a decision on losing a prostate or losing my life.”
Brown underwent surgery on July 30 and was told two days later he was cancer-free.
Rowville assistant coach Ben Wise and under-19s coach Paul Barlow filled the breach for the Round 15 game against Vermont.
“It’s been a tough journey mentally,” he said.
“Being honest with you, I got to a real low point Friday night and I was pretty upset, pretty emotional and depressed.
“I talk to my playing group about a lot and I probably hadn’t listened to myself through recovery about how you always have a choice and a decision.
“Saturday morning I woke up and I had a choice and decision on how I was going to respond and react post-surgery and I’ve made a decision to get on with it.
“That’s not to say I’m going to ebb and flow a bit through this recovery period over the next six weeks but I’m in a good headspace.
“It’s been a long journey and I’ve still got a bit of a journey ahead of me but the great news is I’m cancer-free.”
Brown intends to be back to full fitness in six weeks.
He could be back coaching as soon as Saturday when the Hawks host Montrose.
Brown said he had adopted a “business-as-usual attitude” around the club and coaching had been “a great vehicle for me to keep distracted and focused”.
Rival players and coaches have also sent messages of support since he made a Facebook post last week.
Brown said his cancer fight had given him perspective.
He intends to start ticking items off his bucket list, including a Mount Kilimanjaro trek later this year.
“I’ve got a full life ahead of me with the kids and that was important to me … hence making the decision of getting rid of the cancer,” he said.
“I want to do a bit of travel. I’m not going to sit back now and wait. People say, ‘Once I’ve retired I’m going to start travelling’. But you know what, it might be too late by then.
“I think it’s really important to do things now and I’m going to make sure I diarise and plan to do a bit of travel every year.
“That’s the one thing I’ve learnt from it all — don’t wait for tomorrow or until you’re too old to enjoy things because you may not get there. Do it now.”
Brown urged men to look after their health.
“We take life for granted and I think anyone else in their 40s and we do hear you should go and get yourself tested for prostate … not wait until you’re in your 50s, 60s and 70s,” he said.
“The one thing I’ve learnt is men in their 40s should go and do their blood tests and go and get their PSA levels checked for prostate cancer.
“It’s important we start to take care of ourselves earlier rather than wait for something to happen.”
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