HE'S won endless battles both on the football field and on the sidelines but none of them compare to what Nathan Aldridge's endured over the past eight months.
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At the end of last year, the premiership winning player and coach of Bomaderry FC was diagnosed with vocal cord cancer.
But with two daughters and a loving wife, the 40-year-old jumped straight into his road to recovery.
"The start of treatment was very overwhelming but soon learnt that I need to tackle this head on," Aldridge said.
The first step for Aldridge was to have any suspicious looking teeth removed, ahead of the start of radiation therapy - as they can damage the jaw.
"I had five teeth removed and had an operation to insert a feeding tube placed into my stomach, as most head and neck cancer patients can't swallow food or water," he said.
"But I was determined not to use it and still to this day I haven't."
Following these surgeries, Aldridge started chemotherapy and radiation for stage four vocal cord cancer that had spread to the lymph node in his neck - with the latter taking place every day for seven weeks straight.
"It was pretty daunting the first time I put the mask on and went into the machine," he said.
"And getting pinned to the table was hard but thanks to the great staff and support, it just became part of life.
"As time went on, I became tired and fatigued, along with a pretty nasty burn around my neck."
Different to radiation, chemotherapy was every Monday.
"The first dose of chemotherapy was tough. It took my high pitch hearing," he said.
"So a decision had to be make, either carry on or change the chemo drug.
"It was a tough decision to make and we decided to go with a new chemo called cetuximab - which was every Monday for four weeks.
"I'm not going to lie, this was very brutal at times but I had to fight on."
As tough as this was, Aldridge knew the fight was only going to get harder.
"The last four weeks was the toughest, as the treatment came to an end the burn and fatigue was at its peak," he said.
"I had a few little side effects along the way but as the weeks went on, my recovery was slowly getting better."
Following the end of the treatment, Aldridge had to wait three months before his next visit with his doctor.
"Going into the three-month scan at Wollongong Hospital, we were all really positive," he said.
"Waiting for the results over the weekend was hard but thankfully people around us kept me occupied and positive."
After months of torment, Aldridge and his family heard the news they had been waiting for.
"To find out the cancer has responded to treatment and there is no sign cancer in the head and neck was such a big relief not only for me but the people close to me," he said.
"The not knowing what my future held was very hard but thanks to my wife, my two inspiring daughters and friends, family and all the Shoalhaven cancer clinic staff - especially Bronny - we got through it.
"We had a quiet celebration that night and now we can focus on living a normal life again will be nice.
"We are looking to book a holiday and enjoy the company of the people in my life. I certainly look at life in a very different way."
Upon reflecting on the past couple of months, Aldridge has a message he wants to get out there.
"During this time, I've certainly found the people that generally care ," he said.
"The support we have had from the football community and all the well wishes and messages have been incredible. I sincerely thank everyone.
"I've learnt to not take the simple things for granted.
"For everyone out there, if something doesn't feel or seem right, please go get it checked out."
Aldridge has recently returned to the sidelines to assist Kevin Jackson's first grade Bomaderry side.
He will also coach the Shoalhaven District Football Association side again this season, as they attempt to defend their Southern NSW Branch Title at Merimbula.