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Sport helped me fight cancer

Julian Huxley

by Julian Huxley

10 May 06:00am

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Filed under: Cancer Council, Funding, Kate Lundy, Science, Sport

39 comments

According to the Minister for Sport, Kate Lundy’s office, the estimated government funding of sport for 2011/2012 is estimated to be $348.1million. 

Reckon we'll be as good as Jason McCartney one day? Photo: The Courier Mail

Those funds are dispersed through various avenues including grass roots to elite level, anti doping deterrence and education programs for athletes.

Meanwhile according to the Cancer Council of New South Wales, the overall government funding of cancer research in 2011 was $159 million nationally with a further $56million from the Cancer Institute in New South Wales.

Look at it in black and white and cancer research receives half the funding of sport in Australia. But it is clearly not a simplistic case of sport versus science or research because we can all find and spin a statistic in the favour of any argument. Trust me, I have a vested interest in both “sides” having played for The Wallabies and received treatment for brain cancer.

Many recipients of public spending in any avenue compete with each other for a finite dollar. I can only imagine the dismay of the amazing people that work on the frontline of cancer care delivery and in research fundraising when the figures of diabolical government waste have surfaced over the last few years. The money wasted on pink batts alone could have funded current levels of cancer research for the next twenty five years.

When thinking of spending on science there are many concrete tangibles that can be measured. Researchers come up with amazing new vaccines, understandings and direction for future research.  Leukemia has apparently gone from a one in ten survival rate to a nine in ten survival rate thanks to cancer research. But the problem with spending on sport is that it is impossible to equate the effect that sport has on society in similar terms.

This, in my view, is where critics of sports funding come in with overly simplistic arguments. “Why do we define ourselves by our sporting prowess?” is one argument, “Aren’t we more sophisticated than a sports obsessed country?” and pointing to a raft of amazing achievements in the arts and sciences which are well founded.

However, in my opinion, sport remains the simplest and easiest mechanisms to impart life lessons on youngsters and to deliver health benefits throughout one’s life. In my own experience, my sporting career was instrumental in the way that I was able to cope with brain cancer.

Rugby had taught me I had to focus only on things I could control, performing my role within the team. Doing that would ensure the best chance of success. This approach, and full trust in my doctors, allowed me to accept what was happening to me, do what I could, and let the cards fall where they may. I still remember the time of my surgery and treatment as one of the most peaceful in my life. 

Developing self-efficacy in our youth through sport gives them confidence to achieve in other areas of life. This is all well and good but what does that have to do with the money heaped on elite sport?

I believe it’s this. Seeing gold medallist or world cup winning teams through the starry eyes of children is inspiring. Watching the Wallabies win the 1991 world cup and wanting to be David Campese was a dream I committed to until twenty years later I played for my country.

But elite performance is not what counts. A desire to participate is the key. Kids trying to emulate their Olympic champions, whether they do or not, remain healthy and develop healthy lifestyles. With the worldwide obesity epidemic growing everyday, promoting active lifestyles is an important challenge.

Another point that I believe is largely overlooked is that of mental health. Sport is something you do with other people. Sporting clubs are community based and bring people together.

Research on social connectedness has revealed some important statistics. Poor social connectedness in young people means they are two to three times more likely to suffer depressive symptoms, (Glover et al, 1998).

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics doctors have found that the use of exercise in treating older patients with depression was just as effective as the use of anti depressants.  Studies have also shown an improvement in feelings of wellbeing and lower levels of anxiety and depression through cultural and sporting attendance.

I am not proposing that sport is the only way to foster meaningful relationships in society, although it is a major one. Stories of disenchanted youth turning their lives around through community based sporting programs abound. Interaction with people through sport is a major reason. Learning to trust and work with others, amongst other things, enables people to reconnect with society in numerous other roles.

So money spent on sport is not just money spent on sport, it’s money spent on mental health and community.  Sport provides an opportunity to improve mental health by enhancing social networks, while participants also experience the health benefits of regular exercise. Money spent on facilities and successful Olympians that encourage and inspire people to get involved, lifts an intangible burden off the public health system of the future.

There is just a strong argument for scientific funding. In the world of cancer there are strong links between research funding and improved survival rates so we simply must keep up the fundraising effort. It can’t just land in the hands of the silent generosity of many philanthropists who are consistently godsend to charities and scientists. Without their support the cancer landscape would be infinitely worse off, so if any of you are reading this, thank you for saving my life.

Ultimately the question is not one of science versus sport, but a question of the need to maximise efficiency in all government spending. Australians have a history of punching above our weight in almost every discipline know to man, a source of justifiable pride, it’s time we add another to the list.

Join in ROBUST discussion and rigorous debates like this one at The Cure For Life Foundation free lunchtime ROBUST discussion series for Brain Cancer Action Week today in Martin Place. Visit www.cureforlife.org.au/robust for details. Follow the discussion on twitter #CFLROBUST @cureforlife

Watch Dr Charlie Teo, Keri Huxley and Andrew Penman debate the topic of sports versus science funding on YouTube

Most commented

39 comments

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    • Phil says:

      08:02am | 10/05/12

      Julian. Well written and in perspective. Your comeback has been truly inspiring. Can still remember the tears on your return match for the brumbies.

      When we see the waste of money from governments and the alternate uses it annoys the he’ll out of Australians. Both parties waste money but never on the scale we are seeing now and in the past 4 1/2 years.

      Good luck.

      Reply

    • Venise Alstergren says:

      02:03pm | 10/05/12

      Meanwhile our Olympic swimming team includes Nick D’Arcy.

    • Phil says:

      03:20pm | 10/05/12

      Venise So bloody what. Nick Darcy was guilty of belting another swimmer. He did his time out of the sport and probably qualified to get there.

      People like you probably defend others as well. If your upset by this, then where is your outrage at Channel 9 commentators who have been done for drug taking inside and outside sport.

    • Holmcross says:

      08:10am | 10/05/12

      Rugby taught me that the thick-headed bullies love an legitimate excuse to slam my small frame violently into to ground and not be called out on it.

      Basketball taught me that most rules on team based games are arbitrary and simply there to embarrass you when you don’t know them after being forced to play, and then they don’t tell you the new rules.

      Cricket taught me how to get a really good sunburn and that the mentally deficient that watch it love any excuse to get cartoons cancelled for the 20th time that month.

      Sport made me more bitter, more cynical and less interested in any team based activity. Screw sport, it can go be stupid elsewhere.

      Reply

    • Inky says:

      09:25am | 10/05/12

      My experiences were similar.

      Although my highschool’s dodgeball varient, “murderball”, taught me that if you knew how to dodge and were a hate-magnet, you could indeed be very useful to a team as you became a frustrating target that people couldn’t resist, leaving the heavy hitters unharrassed.

      It’s pretty much the only team sport I was ever good at and only because I was such a target for bullying and so good at avoiding the balls.

      Actually, I stand corrected, I made a good soccer goalie too; but only because people would rather kick the ball into me as hard as they could than trying to score.

    • adam says:

      09:31am | 10/05/12

      Whereas, Rugby taught me there would always be those bigger and stronger than I, Cricket taught me some had better hand eye co-ordination than I, and Basketball taught me it was a dumb arse game for freakily tall people. They all taught me not everyone is suited to every activity/pursuit, and introduced me to others I may never have come into contact with. Even failure can be learnt from and used as a tool for self improvement.

      I like fishing

    • Flanker says:

      09:49am | 10/05/12

      Did you even read the article ?

    • MD says:

      11:11am | 10/05/12

      Sounds like we’ve got some sport hating nerds in here.

    • Kirsty says:

      11:28am | 10/05/12

      I am sorry but once you call people mentally deficient because they prefer to watch cricket because it means the cartoons get cancelled it sort of loses credibility.  Especially because those cartoons are generally aimed at kids under the age of 12.

    • adam says:

      11:30am | 10/05/12

      @MD, nope, love it! Just not “suited” to it. Little things like a lack of skill etc

    • Scotchfinger says:

      11:37am | 10/05/12

      *rubs hands together* lets all develop a frightful new virus that only affects ‘roid-mainlining jocks. Then all the gorgeous bimbo’s will have to turn to us, as their oafish boyfriends will be dead! We can communicate via code.

    • Don Paul says:

      08:03pm | 10/05/12

      My advice: call your parents and ask them if you were born under a lemon tree.

      Because that attitude you have is sour, bitter and likely p*ssed on too many times…

    • marley says:

      08:11am | 10/05/12

      I’ve never been a great fan of excessive funding of sports.  You’ve made me rethink my position.  Good article.

      Reply

    • Pete says:

      11:34am | 10/05/12

      Separate out ‘elite funding’ (and cut it), and I’m fine with an investment in sport. The overpayment to elite sports is simply a subsidisation of wealthy media companies. If they want circuses, let them pay for it.

    • marley says:

      11:47am | 10/05/12

      @Pete - I agree with that too.

    • Tim says:

      12:35pm | 10/05/12

      Even for elite funding, I’m sure the cost-benefit analysis is equally complex and shouldnt be dismissed simply as subsidisation of wealthy media companies. Where grass-roots sports funding can be considered investment in health and social wellbeing, some elite funding is also a job creator and driver of sectors of the economy.

      Why help fund the F1 race in Melbourne? It generates economic activity. Why support bids for Olympics, FIFA or Rugby world cups? Same answer - job creation, tourism, economic stimulus.

      Those critics who automatically oppose such funding need to consider the positive knock on effects.

    • marley says:

      06:54pm | 10/05/12

      @Tim - I’m for subsidising kid sports.  I’m not for subsidising business -whether its Holden or Toyota or the top grade sports comps.  And I have serious doubts about the job creation argument - most Olympic Games leave a few stall holders with a bit more cash, but the average citizen with a higher tax bill.

    • Suzanne says:

      09:10am | 10/05/12

      Well written article and I’m pleased to read of your recovery but what it boils down to is that Australians still value sport & sportsmen/women more than they value the boffins who put decades of work into researching and curing diseases.
      It’s all good and well to highlight the role sport played in your recovery but without the skill and dedication of the doctors& nurses and the constant work done by scientific researchers you may not have been around to recover in the first place.
      It’s a shame that this isn’t recognised more because the net effect is that Australia’s best and brightest are all too often lured away to countries where their intelligence is recognised and rewarded appropriately so they can make real strides in research and development.

      But hey, what does that matter as long as Aussies get to say they beat the poms at <insert sport here>, right?

      Reply

    • Tim says:

      12:51pm | 10/05/12

      Same old tired anti-sport opposition. You’ve entirely and catastrophically missed the point of the article.
      If sports funding was only about bragging rights to the ashes (or any other sport), then your position might hold water.

      But the point made by Julian and many others is that sports funding has benefits akin to preventative medicine and social engagement programs - either directly (active participants are healthier) or indirectly (elite heroes inspire the next generation to participate, set goals, integrate with society etc etc).

      Sports funding is also an economic stimulus. So when you argue for a cut to said funding, you argue indirectly against the plethora of jobs created by a vibrant inudstry - everything from the kids soccer coach to the club merchandise manufacturers.

      Overlooking, or ignoring, these indirect effects is an unsophisticated view of how the world operates

    • Markus says:

      01:26pm | 10/05/12

      I would argue that the medical research piece of the pie is smaller than the sporting piece in most countries.
      Australia’s best and brightest move primarily because other countries just happen to have a bigger pie.

    • Tim says:

      01:49pm | 10/05/12

      Retention of intellectual capital might be an argument to increase medical research grants.

      But its not a good argument to reduce sports grants.  In the same way that under-investment in medical research does not mean we should reduce financial support for homeless shelters, literary funding or performing arts.

    • Sandra says:

      09:12am | 10/05/12

      Recently walking to the bus stop near my home near Redfern, I saw a little indigenous boy trying to hit a tennis ball up against a wall on the street (quiet street). I stopped and threw the ball to him a couple of times, giving him some praise as I walked away. He looked so shyly thrilled it made me think.
      A few months before I had phoned Sydney Cit Council to enquire about the availability of tennis courts at Alexandria Park. $17-50 per hour I was told. You need to book inadvance between 9-5pm. Too hard, I didnt.
      What is this country coming to when we have unused tennis courts (rarely are they used - revenue records would confirm my observation on this) which are simply NO ACCESSIBLE to the children who live in the area?
      We dont need funding, we need functionality with our public sporting facilities.
      I grew up in the country. Anyone could go and have a hit of tennis anytime - and did. But now we talk about “increased funding” as a solution. It is a great idea, but first let us free up the resources which we, the public, supposedly own!
      I know maybe some vandals (in my day we called them larrikins!) would steal the tennis nets or do some other horrible thing. But if the local youth feel ownership of the facilities then I think this would be unlikely to happen more than once. And what does a tennis net costs?
      Julian the health benefits of sport are far wider than anyone could imagine - obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular, circulatory…. etc. Then you mention mental health - this epidemic among our youth has yet to impact on the Australian economy. Add up the cost of all this and you pay 000’s of times over for any outlay on sport.
      And while I’m ranting, what happened to huff & puff?
      Where are the sports teachers at primary schools?
      Academic performance is enhanced by physical activity - Julia hear that?
      And as for the Holmcross, I think you sound as if you of all people really needed to face adversity, unfairness, embarrassment and humiliation and thus learn the wonderful life skills of making something good out of something crap!

      Reply

    • Scotchfinger says:

      10:03am | 10/05/12

      did you give the little indigenous boy a shiny trinket as well?

    • Frank says:

      10:10am | 11/05/12

      Scotchfinger, do you really see racism in a simple description of the person Sandra happened upon? For the life of me, I can’t but I can see an “ad hominem” from a mile away, used only because you don’t have anty reasoned argument or point of discussion.
      If anyone is the racist, it is you because you see the kid as inferior because of his colour. The world needs less of your kind.

    • Cin says:

      09:34am | 10/05/12

      Excellent article! Sport did help me when I was in a situation I couldn’t get out of…every week I got out of the house, away from my problems and enjoyed some friendly competition. I felt so much more alive, strong and capable that I started going to gym classes - again they made me feel stronger and more capable of dealing with the mess that I was in…So sport can do alot for your mental health as well as physically! I would like to encourage the Govt to look into why it’s costing so freakin much to put kids into a team sport…or sport of any kind, we have three children who for the first time aren’t going to be doing any organised sport as we simply cannot afford the fees :( It’s a shame as they get so much out of working as a team and learning that you don’t always win…which I think a few more people might need to learn that lesson.

      Reply

    • Flutz says:

      07:42pm | 10/05/12

      Most of the reason that sports fees are so high these days are due to the crazily expensive insurance premiums the sports associations now have to pay due the the number of lawsuits brought by parents who simply refuse to accept that sometimes on a sports field accidents happen and kids get hurt.

      And whilst I’m commenting I’ll add to this article and other people’s thoughts that throughout history, pride in their national sports is the major thing in most societies that has been able to unite people behind a common cause. And sport can bring about very positive social change.  One example - think apartheid RSA, sport was a major contributing factor (though of course not the only one) in bringing an end to that era and to start to break down barriers between black and white south africans; which flowed off the sports fields and into everyday life.  And yes I know things are still not 100% in RSA in this regard; but it is a whole lot better than it was

    • Scotchfinger says:

      09:42am | 10/05/12

      What a load of twaddle. Fat people get sick, so we fund anti-fatness campaigns. Smokers get sick, so we fund anti-smoking campaigns. Diabetics get sick, so fund etc etc. Whatever happened to kids organising an impromptu cricket game on the weekend; or playing touch footy before dinner? Or just scrambling around on their bikes? When I was at school in the 1980s, there were probably no more than half a dozen fatties in the entire school, yet only the jocks played organised sports. We ate what we wanted, as well. Why on earth should taxpayers contribute yet another portion of our limited pile to sports, which is already hideously overfunded by the private sector? Most of which goes to club executives and million-dollar salaries of rapist beefcakes. Parents, kick your kids out of the house and turn off the Wii-tennis. Let them fall off their bikes and scrape their poor widdle legs. Lock up the biscuit tin until after dinner. For God’s sake people, grow some common sense. Do I have to write an e-book on it??

      Reply

    • Kirsty says:

      11:36am | 10/05/12

      That’s interesting you mention the fat kids in school.  There weren’t that many when I was at school (90’s/00’s) but I recently went to my little brothers swimming carnival and he was one of the very few that weren’t overweight.  Despite the daily activities the kids are encouraged to do at school and the active after school program there are still a lot of hefty kids out there. 
      Interesting points re: the private sector too and who can go past the “rapist beefcake” line.

    • Bev says:

      11:49am | 10/05/12

      If you can show me stats that would justify “rapist beefcakes” I may be inclined to say your comment was a good one.  Side swiping generalizations add nothing to your comment but detract from it.

    • Scotchfinger says:

      12:10pm | 10/05/12

      You need stats, I show you the Bulldogs. ‘Team players’ in more ways than one, particularly if there’s a swimming pool or motel around. Drunk girls welcome, consent strictly optional. They even end as cross-dressing idiots hosting their own bogan chat shows. You want stats, I show you an industry where they need their own private counsellor to teach them how to treat women: ‘sorry boys, a girl passing out on your motel bed doesn’t always mean she’s up for it. Ricky, could you please stop picking your nose and flicking the snot at Brendan! And sit down!’

    • Tim says:

      12:41pm | 10/05/12

      Scotchfinger,
      perhaps your definition of stats differs from those of other (intelligent) people.
      Can you please provide stats on the crime rates of australian sports people in relation to the community as a whole?
      I’ll be waiting, Kthxbai.

    • Mick says:

      10:04am | 10/05/12

      Great piece Julian, I agree on all counts.  Medical research is horribly underfunded in this country.  At a time when we should be diversifying our economy in preparation for the eventual but inevitible slow down in the natural resources industry, the government could be looking to medical research as a future growth industry and provide some serious funding now.  Forget about $159m in funding - imagine what a couple of billion in extra funding could do.  That would show some real vision and leadership. 

      The money is there - it just needs to be spent more wisely.  For example, I’m sure there are a few researchers who could use some of the $200m that will be wasted on a report into why we should build another batch of outdated, outmatched, unreliable and irrellevant submarines in Adelaide.

      Finally Julian,  your recovery and comeback to rugby has been an inspiration.  Anyone who can go through that and get back onto the footy field at super 15 level in as good a form as ever must have real ticker.  Well done.

      Reply

    • Dave says:

      10:18am | 10/05/12

      Yep sport is well-recognised as a healthy living activity.  In rural Australia, much of the community is driven around the local footy team and it provides a place for social connection and friendships and purpose. 

      It’s also a way to break down some of the barriers around getting fellas to think about health, which is why Sam Reid of the GWS Giants is a diabetes ambassador and Sterling Mortlock advocates for Foundation 49.  Cos it gets blokes to think about health.

      Men’s Health Week is not far off, but here’s one from last year.
      http://pubapps.uws.edu.au/news_archive/index.php?act=view&story_id=2984

      Look after yourselves folks.  However you choose to.

      Reply

    • Kirsty says:

      11:42am | 10/05/12

      I find it interesting Dave that with the platform to talk about men’s health issues and really connect with the audience groups like the NRL, AFL and cricket instead choose to focus on breast cancer.  This is despite having a largely male audience who have a pretty low chance of facing this particular cancer as opposed to prostate, testicular, bowel etc cancers.

    • Leo says:

      11:40am | 10/05/12

      Julian, a really good article.

      Its really frustrating to see the funds poured into over hyped government programs that have debatable value to the community. Considering where the money could be spent, as you point out with the cancer funding. Instead of pink bats what about dental programs for the elderly & the poor ? One could write an almost endless list of spending priorities that would all be higher on the list than pink bats, its frustrating that the government don’t agree.

      You also raise the oft overlooked benefits of sport. The physical aspects have direct benefits in reducing health costs by producing fitter, healthier people. Additionally, the mental health aspect is rarely considered. We work all the time and life’s pressures can dominate our routine and we get stuck in a rut. Sport can be a mental circuit breaker as well as provide an opportunity to socialize and meet new friends.

      Reply

    • Paul says:

      05:54pm | 10/05/12

      Hux, from my reading of your article, I sense you’re talking about finding a balance so that all aspects of our community can be recognised, while speaking about your own experiences as a cancer survivor and elite athlete.

      From my point of view, I think there IS a balance between sport and academia.  Consider in recent news on the CSIRO and the development of Bluetooth technology is one example. Fiona Wood and the ‘spray-on’ skin developed for burns victims is another. How about Patrick McGorry and his leadership and initatives into Mental Health? Both Wood and McGorry are former Australians of the year, and have been celebrated for the contributions to their field and to our community.

      To say that sport should be overlooked it short sighted, for the very reasons stated in the article.

      Reply

    • stephen says:

      06:49pm | 10/05/12

      Sport ,and exertion generally, increase the breathing and heart rates which bring oxygen to cells at a greater rate, and I think that this fact needs more research. Oxygen - or rather, lots of it - seems to be a key to good cell development.
      Apart from that though, I think there are chemicals released in the brain from exercize, and these chemicals are mood elevators.
      But there are, too, important reasons of a psychological nature that make involvement in sport at all levels imperative, and team work and social development skills are the least important of them.

      Reply

    • Don Paul says:

      08:01pm | 10/05/12

      Good article, Julian.

      I was a little hesitant of sport funding before, but you’ve made a good argument worthy of fair consideration.

      Reply

    • Frank Collins says:

      10:16am | 11/05/12

      Well written and considered article, my friend.

      It has attracted some of the bitter and twisted but you get them everywhere.

      Reply
 
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