The recurrence and the treatments that followed were difficult, and the uncertainty of what more could happen left her feeling drained and vulnerable, the 56-year-old says.
Hardwick needed to make lifestyle changes and to start listening to her body. “I realised I was working too hard, sometimes teaching up to 10 hours a day on top of two hours of travel to work and back. I wasn’t getting the rest that my body needed.”
Her entire life has been spent at or around a golf course. Her father, Joe Hardwick, was the head professional at the Hong Kong Golf Club from 1965 to 1995, and a co-founder of the Hong Kong Professional Golfers’ Association (HKPGA).
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This helped fuel her illustrious golfing career that included being the No. 1 ranked amateur in Hong Kong in 1991 after winning the Singapore Ladies Open title, and being the first woman to join the HKPGA in 1994. She has taught the sport at the Hong Kong Golf Club for nearly three decades.
After her diagnosis, to switch things up, Hardwick spent less time on the course and took up more exercise – including long walks, at least three times a week, and clocking 10,000 steps every other day. A resident of Sheung Shui in North District, she enjoys hiking along the nearby trails and power walking along the river to Lo Wu.
Spending time in nature helped her heal. “Being on the nature trails was different to being at a golf driving range or on the golf course. Looking at the trees and the mountains allowed me to reconnect with myself, to be in the present moment. It rejuvenated me,” she says.Cancer also made Hardwick reassess her diet and rein in her sweet tooth.
In 2017 Hardwick had several bioresonance sessions at iLivingHK, a wellness centre in Hong Kong.Bioresonance is a non-invasive healing therapy based on the premise that each of our cells, organs, tissues and systems emits electromagnetic waves that resonate at a specific frequency pattern, and which are considered “harmonious” when functioning at their best.
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Bioresonance therapy picks up imbalances in the body as a result of cells resonating at “disharmonious” frequencies and neutralises them using an energy wavelength machine.
“The process helped me find out which food groups put stress on my system – red meat, coffee, dairy products, certain fruits and shellfish – and which supplements to take,” Hardwick says.
She decided to eliminate sugar and high-fat animal products like beef.
“My diet now consists of organic chicken, fish, fresh fruits and vegetables. I cut out processed carbohydrates and replaced the sugary desserts that I had loved with fruit,” she says.
“Making these changes gave me more energy.”
Going back to work after her recovery also helped her enormously. “The Hong Kong Golf Club is my ‘happy place’ and the management there have been very supportive in my recovery. Teaching golf has kept me busy, and it gives me a purpose,” she says.
In October 2020, while Hardwick was on the course, she ducked to get out of the way of an errant golf shot and felt a lump in the side of her neck.
“I knew instantly that something was wrong and scheduled a check-up.” She was diagnosed with stage 4 thyroid cancer.
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“I was in shock, especially when my doctors told me that this was not related to my previous diagnosis. I realised that I had not been for a full body check-up in almost four years, since the breast cancer was detected, and wished that I had been [seeing my doctor regularly],” she says.
She underwent another surgery in November 2020, followed by radiation and chemotherapy for seven weeks.
“I was worried given that the cancer was at an advanced stage. I was also anxious about contracting Covid, especially with my lower immunity,” she says.
The radiation therapy took a toll and for two months, to overcome eating difficulties, she needed a nasogastric tube, to carry food and medicine to her stomach through her nose.
“The skin on my neck looked like dry crispy bacon by the end of the treatment,” she says, adding that she quickly dropped more than 13kg (30lbs).
Her vocal cords were affected; she saw a specialist to help restore her speech and now needs an injection every six to 12 months.
Hardwick also resumed the bioresonance sessions after she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She now goes for follow-up sessions every eight to 10 weeks.
Anita Cheung, the founder of iLivingHK, has been working with Hardwick for the past few years.
“We tested Joann against a range of foods to determine which worked well with her body and which didn’t. Bioresonance does not replace medical testing or the conventional treatments for cancer but supports the patient on their healing journey,” she explains.
As brutal as the cancer was, with time Hardwick accepted and learned to live with it.
“I take every day now as a blessing and live life to the fullest. I truly believe that I am becoming healthier every day.
“I do a series of exercises to improve the mobility of my neck and strengthen my abdomen and legs. Focusing on my breath makes me feel centred and happy,” she says.
She has also been practising qigong, a Chinese system of movement, breathing, and meditation, for the past nine months.
Hardwick says that it’s important to focus on what you enjoy doing. She learned salsa in 2003 and went back to dancing in 2015; she now uses an app – Figure 8 – to dance.
She is also illustrating a comic-style book on golf etiquette for young and old players, and hopes to publish it this year.
Cultivating an environment for healing to take place is key, Hardwick says. It’s important to surround yourself with people you trust, to speak with people who have been in a similar situation, to practice positive self-talk – and learn to laugh at yourself.
Most importantly, you have to face your fears and see yourself coming out of this as healthy and vibrant.
