Former Brisbane Roar youngster Izaack Powell speaks to KEEPUP after news that his leukaemia had relapsed.
For Izaack Powell, perspective is everything.
The 21-year-old has been put through the wringer for the best part of two years.
His promising football career at Brisbane Roar was put on hold after being diagnosed with leukaemia in 2021, and after going into remission – he had since been given the all clear to the pitch with NPL Queensland outfit Peninsular Power earlier this year.
That was until a routine, 12 month biopsy revealed he had relapsed and needed a bone marrow transplant as a long-term solution to cure his cancer.
He has every reason to feel frustrated or angry with the hand he’s been dealt, but for Powell, it all comes back to that one word.
“I guess I just feel pretty lucky, because I guess, I’ve seen people who have been going through a similar thing over the past couple of years and literally not been able to make it through,” he tells KEEPUP.
“I guess it kind of brings it into perspective that I’m still here and can keep fighting through it. I just like being aware of everything else that goes on in the world.
“It just puts it into a bit of perspective for myself.”
Powell went public with the news last Wednesday night, posting on his Instagram story that he had relapsed.
The news came as a “surprise” to the young defender and his doctor, and despite the “reality” settling in, he is solely focused on tackling the next stages in his recovery.
“(It) was just a regular checkup as a part of the protocol, so I had that done,” he said about the biopsy.
“When I had my follow up appointment with the doctor, they had the unfortunate news for me.
“It was a surprise to myself and also my doctor, so I had another one done to confirm that a couple of weeks later, which showed the same thing.
“It was challenging to begin with because it was also quite a surprise. I’m feeling relatively healthy right now, but now that I’ve had a bit of time for it to settle in, I guess, it’s just become the reality.
“I just have to get on with it, and keep going.”
Since the news went public, Powell has received a groundswell of support, with Brisbane Roar fans holding up a banner saying “We stand with you Izaack” during their clash with Sydney FC on Monday night.
“I feel really lucky, to be honest, because I know there’s lots of other people out there going through a similar thing with little to no support,” he said.
“Whereas in my situation, I’ve got lots of people from the public, people that I haven’t met before, just wishing me the best and telling me to stay strong.
“It’s pretty nice to know that I’ve got people even outside of my own family who do genuinely care about me and want to see me recover from this and get back to playing football again.”
Before his initial diagnosis, Powell was making a name for himself as one of Australia’s most promising full-backs, becoming the youngest ever Brisbane Roar player – at the time – after debuting in a 2-1 win over Sydney FC in February 2019.
He was only 16 years, 11 months and 28 days old and a week prior had won the Y-League Grand Final against Western Sydney Wanderers.
Over the next two seasons, the left-back would make 10 appearances for the senior side, making six starts at the tail end of the 2018/19 campaign under the tutelage of interim coach Darren Davies.
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His performances caught the eye of Australia’s youth national teams and he was called up to the U-17 FIFA World Cup with the Joeys, starting and playing in each of their four games – including getting an assist for Noah Botic in their opening game – a 2-1 defeat to Ecuador.
After working with doctors, he received the all clear to return to the football pitch in December 2022, Powell signed with Peninsula Power, one of Queensland’s top NPL sides and looked set to begin his road back to the top level.
But despite the setback, he is determined to ensure his short tenure at Power wouldn’t be the last time he steps foot on a football field.
“It was a bit surreal, I guess, because I’ve been back playing for a few months,” he said.
“And it seemed like that was going to continue that way and keep playing for the rest of the season and onwards from there.
“It was a bit difficult, but I guess knowing that in whenever it is, 12 months time, a couple of years time, when I’m back playing again, it’ll be It will be worth it.”
But for now, his attention is on making a full recovery, as he gets ready for a series of different treatments and hopefully, a transplant once a compatible donor is found.
“I’m going to be needing a bone marrow transplant now, which is to replace my faulty bone marrow, in a sense, because it’s not working how it should be,” he said.
“I’m going to be needing a few different treatments. Immunotherapy, which, the aim of that is to get my leukaemia back into remission, so to eradicate the leukaemia cells at the moment.
“From there, I’ll be receiving a little bit of chemotherapy and radiation to completely wipe out all my bone marrow. Pretty much to get ready to acquire the new transplant, and then the transplant itself is quite simple.
“It’s comparable to a blood transfusion, in a sense. I just get the cells transfused through a drip in my arm essentially, but then the recovery from that they said, is quite intense. In terms of feeling quite fatigued and all the kind of similar symptoms that come along with chemo and radiation.”
Join the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry
There are many ways to help Powell and those currently going through similar diagnosis.
There is currently a critical need for younger donors aged between 18-35 years old – especially men – to register and increase the chances to find the best possible match.
“The first thing is looking to join the bone marrow registry so you can go through the Strength to Give website or the Lifeblood website,” Powell said.
“You can have a look through there to join the bone marrow registry, which now, as of just the last month, I think they’ve made it able that everyone can just have a cheek swab to be eligible and then join the registry.
“So that will be going on the world worldwide registry, for anyone who needs a transplant, they are able to be matched to that, if it’s the right fit.
“Or secondly, you can be donating blood, which is also a massive help, because myself, over the past couple of years, I’ve had, I don’t know, probably 50 or so different blood transfusions of either red blood or platelets, which has been integral to my recovery.
“So either of those two methods go a long way, and I guess more specific to me. If people are wanting to help out, the bone marrow registry is continually updated, so if anyone who joined did end up being a match for myself before I was receiving a transplant, then my doctors would be notified of that and could go from there.”
