By ASSOCIATED PRESS

MELBOURNE, Australia — Australian golfer Jarrod Lyle has opted not to seek further treatment in his long fight against leukemia and will receive palliative care at home, his family announced.

The 36-year-old Lyle, who won twice on the Nationwide Tour in 2008, was first diagnosed with leukemia as a teenager and suffered recurrences of the disease in 2012 and 2017.

In a post on Lyle’s Facebook page, his wife Briony wrote that Lyle had “reached his limit” and that he and his doctors had agreed that a “positive outcome” was no longer achievable.

“My heart breaks as I type this message,” reads the post, which has a photo of Lyle hugging one of his daughters. “Earlier today (Tuesday) Jarrod made the decision to stop active treatment and begin palliative care. 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.

“There is simply not enough time to get this message out to everyone individually, so for some of our really close friends and family I cannot apologize enough for breaking the news in this way ... 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.”

She added: “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 underwent a bone marrow transplant last December following a recurrence of acute myeloid leukemia.

Lyle twice beat acute myeloid leukemia, in 1998 and 2012, and was able to return to play professional golf.

He made an emotional comeback to the golf course during the 2013 Australian Masters in Melbourne before using a medical exemption to play on the U.S. PGA Tour in 2015. He played four seasons on the U.S. tour, where he earned $1.875 million in 121 tournaments.

Lyle returned to Australia permanently to be with Briony and daughters Lusi and Jemma.