There are more important things in life.
Erik Van Rooyen, an incredibly talented South African golfer, has just clinched victory at the World Wide Technology Championship.
His interview will leave you in tears.
George Savaricas from NBC started his post-round interview with a question: 'How were you able to remain so composed when the stakes were at their highest? Erik took what seemed like the longest 10 seconds to respond, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Sorry," he eventually said, his voice trembling.
"I stayed calm because there are more important things in life than golf."
The 33-year-old golfer was referring to his best friend and former University of Minnesota teammate, Jon Trasamar. Jon had been battling Stage 4 melanoma for over a year, and despite hopes of recovery in late 2022, the cancer persisted. As reported by Ryan French, after failing to advance past the first stage of Q-School last autumn, Jon went for a follow-up, only to find that the cancer had spread to his ribs. Despite treatment and signs of improvement, another doctor's visit in February revealed that the cancer had spread to his liver, back, spine, and legs.
Now, Erik sadly shared that Jon has just six to ten weeks left to live.
Thank you for reminding us all that there are more important things in life (insert thing here).
Sending you all love and kindness.
Today 27 years ago the doc told me that I need treatment but will not die of #testicular#cancer cause I detected it early! Guys, check once a month!
Today 8 years ago I launched #loveyournuts – nothing like giving back!
Check our fantesticle new website: https://t.co/C09UlkLOdr
DONE!!! Arrived 17:00 in Cape Town!
PE to Cape Town, 1000km, 6 days, 10 000m climbing, 8 hours a day on a saddle to raise awareness for #testicular#cancer and funds for #loveyournuts
THANK YOU TO THE BALLSY CYCLISTS!
See details here: https://t.co/r8ojlCXj8F
Time to get active this week. We can't wait for @runningworldcup to start this week.
If you want to join us, look for our team "LungRunners" on the Vitality WC app or us the link https://t.co/DkTXQm5Lvs
If you have STRAVA, search for us.
A little bit of Nutcracker statistics.
No, no it's not about competition but it shows that South Africans are nuts about #loveyournuts nationwide! 😍
And thank you to the ladies who support #testiclar#cancer awareness just like a lot of men support #breast#cancer awareness.
A special day. To celebrate life when given a second chance. The best things in life are free. Love en enjoy your family. @lung_runners forever https://t.co/Cd0z8NNM4r
This November, let's go NUTS in support of our brothers over at @loveyournuts! Help Darling Brew raise awareness for testicular cancer by entering our Bru-Vembeer challenge!