Midway through March, Andrew Maggs didn't know how different his life was about to be.
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The lovable larrikin, best known on the Border for his hockey, cricket and golfing exploits, had no idea he had cancer cells rapidly spreading through his body.
Fast forward six weeks and it had reached a spot where it was inoperable.
The cancer started in his appendix, but, in that short space of time, made its way to the peritoneal wall - the lining of the abdomen.
Vital organs such as the stomach and liver are in that part of the body, making the treatment process extremely difficult.
The 36-year-old father of two knows there's a tough journey ahead.
"It took us all by surprise, I was always reasonably healthy and fit and to get this diagnosis was basically the first time I've ever been really sick and it's pretty bad," Mr Maggs said.
"We're dealing with it the best we can, but there's definitely tough times ahead.
"We're trying to be as positive as we can and think we can be the ones to beat it."
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It's certainly been hard to come to terms with, but Mr Maggs' positive approach to a simply horrible situation can't be denied.
"I'm feeling as good as I can to be honest," he said.
"I'm about a third of the way through my chemotherapy treatment - I'm two months into a six-month course.
"So far I'm dealing with it OK and haven't been too sick or anything, which is good.
"I had treatment on Monday and I'm feeling pretty good, so I'm going OK considering.
"To be honest, it had spread before I even knew I had it.
"I had no real symptoms.
"It was about mid-March when I started having some funny feelings in my tummy.
"So I'm told, it's a really hard place to get in and operate on because there's so many organs around.
"It covers your stomach, your bowel and everything in there.
"It's basically inoperable, unfortunately.
"We're basically hoping the chemotherapy can shrink it enough to hopefully get to the operable stage, but if not just be manageable where I can keep receiving chemo for as long possible and holding it stable for a while."
Mr Maggs first started feeling pains in his stomach while at work at Maryborough Golf Club.
"I work on a golf course driving around on mowers and tractors and it got a bit bumpy," he said.
"Going over the bumps, I had these funny feelings in my tummy.
"It was there for a couple of weeks and I thought it wasn't right, so I went to see my doctor and he basically said 'I don't think there's anything wrong' and told me I've probably got some acid reflux because I was getting a bit of that.
"He said to come back and see him in six weeks, but after three weeks I started losing a lot of weight.
"I probably dropped eight kilos in those three weeks, which wasn't ideal.
"The reflux went away, but the pain in my tummy wasn't going away.
"It wasn't there the whole time, I only felt it when I went over bumps or I was driving out my driveway and went over a gutter or something.
"I went back to the doctor and he did some blood tests and it all sort of went from there.
"From the time I had my blood tests to having the laparoscopy, the camera in the stomach, they found the pain was the cancer and that's where it had spread to.
"That time frame was probably about a month to six weeks.
"Basically it's classed as bowel cancer, even though there's no cancer in my bowel, the appendix is part of your bowel.
"It sucks to be honest."
It didn't take long for the shock news to be relayed back to the Border community and the support has been flooding in for Mr Maggs ever since.
This is the most important game of my life and I don't plan on losing this one. I know it sounds a bit cliche, but that's how I'm treating it.
- Andrew Maggs
A phenomenal amount of items have been provided to be auctioned on the night, and while final donations are yet to be tallied, all proceeds will go to Mr Maggs, his wife Josephine and sons Samuel and Leo, to assist with treatment and the financial unknown for the family.
"Overwhelming is the word," Mr Maggs said.
"I see all the messages through social media and I've cried a lot just reading them.
"The hockey community has been great, but friends from school and I played a bit of cricket up at Lavington, so Lavington Panthers have been great as well.
"My new hockey club in Bendigo, North West Lighting, have been fantastic as well.
"It's unbelievable the amount of support we've had, not just myself but my wife (Josephine) as well, my mum and dad and my brothers.
"It's going to be a big weekend emotionally seeing all my friends for the first time.
"Obviously everyone has put in a lot of effort and I'm really grateful.
"Everyone has rallied around us all, which has been fantastic."
Mr Maggs can't thank all involved in organising the event enough, but will use the night as an opportunity to show his gratitude.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone and explaining to everyone what's going on with me," he said.
"People might know I'm sick, but they might not know the extent or how it came about.
"One thing I've really wanted to do since (my brother) Jeremy told me this night was going to happen, was just to say thank you to everybody in person.
"Everything they've done for us, I'll never be able to repay, but if I can say something face-to-face it will ease my mind a little bit."
While he may be in the fight of his life, Mr Maggs is approaching it like any other challenge.
"For those who knew me at hockey and cricket, I really hated to lose. Sometimes it was probably a bit over the top when we lost," he laughed.
"This is the most important game of my life and I don't plan on losing this one. I know it sounds a bit cliche, but that's how I'm treating it.
"I hate losing and I'm not going down without a fight."
A charity golf event was staged at Commercial Albury Golf Resort for Mr Maggs on Friday.
Saturday night's cocktail party and auction commences at 7pm in the Commercial Club's auditorium.
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