Australian golfer Jarrod Lyle will spend his final days surrounded by loved ones after making the heartbreaking decision to go into palliative care.
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The 36-year-old has been fighting a third battle with cancer since a recurrence of acute myeloid leukaemia last year.
There has been an outpouring of sadness from golf fans around the world after wife Briony updated Lyle's social media pages on Tuesday night.
Briony has been posting about her husband's deteriorating health during recent months, but her most recent update to his followers on Facebook and Instagram confirmed the worst possible news.
"Earlier today Jarrod made the decision to stop active treatment and begin palliative care," Briony wrote.
"He has given everything that he's got to give, and his poor body cannot take anymore.
"We'll be taking him closer to home in the next couple of days so he can finally leave the hospital.
"We have done our best to 'control' the narrative surrounding Jarrod's illness and treatment, and as more and more people become involved in this final process I'm not sure how much longer this development will remain private.
"Jarrod knows he is loved, and the thousands of prayers and well wishes that have been sent his way have kept him going through some incredibly tough times.
"But he has reached his limit, and the docs have finally agreed that they can no longer strive for a positive outcome.
"My focus as of today is on our girls and doing whatever I can to get them through the challenges ahead.
"Jarrod will be closer to them very soon, and will spend as much time as he can with them.
"When it's appropriate, I will post details of a memorial service. In the meantime we ask that you respect our privacy at this difficult time."
Lyle courageously beat cancer, in 1998 as a teenager and again in 2012, and returned to play professional golf.
He made an emotional comeback to the course during the 2013 Australian Masters before trying his luck at using a medical exemption to win his PGA Tour card back in 2015.
The PGA Tour set-up a fund to help Briony and their two children Lusi and Jemma with medical costs throughout his health battles.
Lyle grew up in the regional Victorian city of Shepparton and still has family and many friends living there.
Australian Associated Press
