How Mark Williams discovered he had cancerJesper Fjeldstad
The Advertiser
December 5, 2015IT was the size of a peanut.
Mark Williams first realised something was wrong when he was shaving one day and noticed a bump near his temple, and an initial consultation confirmed the fears that the once-bulletproof Collingwood captain and Port premiership coach had a fight on his hands.
He had lymphoma. Cancer.
It was late 2014 when he had to come to terms with not only his own fate, but also how his family would go on if he didn’t make it.
In trademark fashion, Williams attacked the cancer like he had previous challenges – head-on – but as he looks back he concedes it frightened the suitcase out of him.
“It scared me, yeah,” Williams said. “Given the fact that I hardly missed one game in my footy career and in my working career I’ve probably missed three days, ever.
“So to actually come up and have a diagnosis like that was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding.’
“Because in my footy career I got over things quickly, the mindset was that, ‘I’ll just get over this.’
“It was just something else to work on and I’d get over it. And luckily, the doctors did a wonderful job at the Peter Mac Centre. I was really quite happy with the result.
“I noticed it ... I was shaving and it was like I had a peanut growing under here (he motions to an area between the cheekbone and the temple). That’s where it was.”
Williams, who was in Adelaide this week to support sister Jenny’s book launch, was in the wars.
But what struck him more than his own predicament was learning that his brother, former Port Adelaide premiership player and coach Stephen, had cancer at the same time.
“I was ringing him up saying that things were going quite well,” Williams recalled. “And then he told me about him. It was a real shock.”
That revelation, coupled with time spent in cancer wards surrounded by those hit harder than himself, made for a life-altering experience.
Williams was quick to admit he had held greater concerns for Stephen than he did for himself. That surprises nobody, because Williams has always been a family man to the core.
As he reflected on Port Adelaide’s premiership in the annals of the MCG back in 2004, he was quick to pay tribute to his late father, Fos, and twin brother Anthony, who died in a building accident back in 1988.
As Mark Williams confronted his own mortality years later, his heart and his mind was with Stephen, with the pair regularly speaking about their treatments and ticked off similar things.
Mark was in shock when, during a regular update on his progress, Stephen let him know he was fighting his own cancer battle.
As Mark was battling lymphoma, Stephen had been hit by a virus that caused cancer in the tonsils and the lymph node. He had an operation to cut it out and had six months’ radiotherapy on his neck.
The brothers’ fate affected everybody around them, as much as they wore brave faces during their illnesses.
Mark’s close mate Phil Smyth, a four-time Olympian and champion basketball coach, said Williams’ cancer fight had changed him.
“I’m not talking about losing his taste or getting a dry mouth,” Smyth said. “But it’s softened him a little. Those of us who know him already knew that he has a soft side, but it’s more that he only worries about the things that are really important now. It had him worried and all of us worried because he had to face his own mortality.”
Smyth was an important sounding board to Williams, because he had gone through his own cancer scare when he was a player.
Back then, doctors were in two minds after seeing “clouds” on his lungs, and Smyth had to have the same tests as those who were feared to have cancer.
Smyth can still recall the fears he battled at the time.
“One doctor said ‘you’ll be fine’, but another said I might have cancer, and until you find out it really scares you,” he said. “When Mark and Stephen were diagnosed, we were all worried. It’s a good story now, because they’re both OK, but we were really worried at the time.”
The mortar between the Williams brothers was Jenny, who was a constant source of support and reminded them of the inner strength that had led them to so many triumphs on the sporting field.
Jenny works in sports psychology, but the same principles that apply to athletes are relevant when former athletes are battling one of the most frightening diseases.
“It’s resilience, getting over things,” Jenny said. “Having support and care. With Mark, all the players wanted to see him, to check in on him. That’s when you know you’ve done a good job as a coach, because you’ve actually got mates who care about you.”
Mark Williams, in trademark style, takes the mickey out of his sister.
But his words are a thinly veiled compliment that underlines the importance of Jenny’s energy and determination as both of her brothers were fighting cancer.
“She’s always wanting to think that she can find a solution to everything for us,” Williams said. “Then all of a sudden she couldn’t, so she felt a bit handcuffed in that way, I’m sure.”
Williams announced to the Richmond players and coaches that he was in the clear in July this year.
The reaction was priceless – they mauled him and cheered and there were high-fives all around.
Williams, a changed man from facing mortality for the first time, emerged from the huddle with watery eyes.
He’s changed, but the drive is still there.
He was asked about his celebrations after the 2004 landmark premiership this week, and was unflinching.
“The Allan Scott thing ... I don’t regret a thing,” Williams said. “Drive is an important thing for any coach.”
Scott, the club’s major sponsor, had previously said that Port Adelaide would never win a premiership with Williams as a coach.
As part of his celebrations after the 2004 premiership, Williams tugged at his tie in reference to the “choker” tag which had been attached to the club and later said, “And Allan Scott, you were wrong” as he addressed the MCG audience.
He smiles when it’s brought up. He’s still that person. Only a little softened after beating cancer, and doing it quietly and gracefully.
Think, Prepare, Play Like a Champion, by J A Williams, is available through bestonground-performance.comhttp://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl/how-mark-williams-discovered-he-had-cancer/story-fnia6ojc-1227634278266
