Jarrod Lyle thanks fans in emotional recording after ceasing cancer treatment

On Wednesday, golfing fans in Australia and around the world were shocked and saddened by the news that 36-year-old golf champion Jarrod Lyle was ending all cancer treatment to spend his final days with his wife and children.

Lyle had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia three times. He battled and beat the cancer in 1998 and in 2012, but sadly in July last year, the cancer returned for a third time. This time, his body hasn’t been able to fight off the disease.

His wife Briony took to her husband’s Facebook page late on Tuesday evening, giving fans an update on Lyle’s condition.

“My heart breaks as I type this message. Earlier today Jarrod made the decision to stop active treatment and begin palliative care,” she 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.”

Lyle’s good friend and host of golfing podcast Inside the Ropes Mark Hayes has now aired a message Lyle reordered for his fans. The recording was intended for a book that is being written about Lyle’s life, but with permission from Lyle and his family, Hayes aired it on his show on Wednesday evening.

“This is at Bri’s [Briony’s] request,” Hayes said before playing the clip. “Bri has run out of words to express what’s going on in the Lyle household. She’s done such an amazing job. I couldn’t give more praise to a woman for being so brave and eloquent and stellar as a human being.”

The clip was then played.

Read more: Golfer Jarrod Lyle’s heartbreaking decision to stop his cancer treatment

“I feel like I’m the luckiest golfer going around,” Lyle could be heard saying in the recording. “Because so many people took an interest in me and took an interest in my fight.

“To have so many friends around the world, whether they’re spectators, whether they’re golfers, whether they’re marshals, whatever. To have that kind of support to go to every tournament is the greatest feeling. It’s going to be hard to leave that behind.”

He then said that he fought the cancer battle as long as he could because he wanted to get back out and play golf.

“They know that I love them, they know that all the fighting that I did do was to get back out and play golf again. To have the support from all those people was just a tremendous feeling. It’s going to be hard, but at some point it’s going to happen and they’ll get on with their lives and I just feel very lucky.”

Hayes said it was a message for anyone who has shown an interest in Lyle’s story.

Since his diagnosis in July last year, Lyle’s family have shared every aspect of his cancer treatment online with fans. Whether he was receiving chemotherapy or spending quality time with his children, Lyle has wanted his followers to be part of his journey.

Do you have a message of support for Jarrod and Briony at this difficult time?