Succeeding in professional golf is hard enough without also dealing with leukaemia.
But Kiwi golfer Michael Hendry has quickly re-established himself at the elite level six months after the diagnosis that changed his life.
Hendry is gearing up for this week's Australian Open having successfully returned to the greens after revealing in May he had cancer.
All the while, he's been learning the challenges and effects of playing golf while managing his health.
"Getting late in the tournaments, I definitely found last week in the heat with four or five holes to go I definitely hit a wall," Hendry told 1News.
"So I probably need to manage my nutrition a little bit."
But if you didn't know anything about what he's faced this year, you'd be none the wiser as his skill continues to shine on the course.
He won last month's Charles Tour's Clearwater Open, just a couple of weeks after his competitive return, and then went nine-under in the last two rounds at the Australian PGA.
"I probably surprised myself in terms of how quickly I won again," he said.
"That was very surprising and really special, it just showed me I could play the way I wanted to again."
Hendry said he's currently living in "three-month blocks" with bone marrow biopsies along with blood tests every six weeks which tell him if he's healthy enough to play.
"The next three months are looking promising, but what happens in the three months after that we don't know yet.
"Hopefully they're good, successive three-month periods where I can sort of get my teeth back into the game."
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