To those who know Nahne Marsters, it is no secret she is an extremely powerful woman.
The weightlifting leaderboards at Crossfit Rotorua are dominated by her name and she has the personality to match.
Now, this wahine toa has been forced to prove her strength in another way.
The 31-year-old is battling stage four gallbladder cancer. The disease has spread to her lungs and liver and she has been told she could have just months to live.
But Marsters is a fighter, she doesn't want sympathy and armed with the mantra of "positive vibes only" she is on a mission to "kick cancer's butt".
Marsters started experiencing a stabbing pain in her back around July and August last year but thought she may have just pulled a muscle and took pain killers.
"At first it was kind of something that just came and went away."
About a month later the pain returned and in September, Marsters went to see a doctor. That was the beginning of a long and frustrating journey to find out what was really happening.
"I went to the doctor quite a lot - it was continuous.
"I was getting the same [responses], that it might be gallbladder stones or my diet, I was just coming off a keto diet. But it was such sharp pains.
"It was different GPs each time and looking back now, there were signs that more needed to be done. I had a really bad cough and other problems elsewhere, which now I realise is because it was spreading."
In the following months, Marsters' pain escalated to the point that in December doctors booked her for an ultrasound.
Before that though, the pain became so excruciating she ended up in the emergency department in hospital but despite being in agony and bed-bound, an ultrasound was still about a month away, so Marsters went private and booked one straight away at her own cost.
"I got my scan, she left the room for about half an hour and then came back with lots of notes. She said you need to go to ED right now and give them all of this. It's urgent.
"It was so scary, but I was still thinking maybe my gallbladder was just infected."
Back in the emergency department, Marsters was told there was "a lump" and she was put on pain relief while she waited for a CT scan to find out exactly what the issue was.
She had the scan and on January 11, she was told she had stage four gallbladder cancer, it had spread to her liver and lungs and it was terminal.
"I was told that I had months to live. My first feeling was 'what the f***?. How did it get to this?'.
"There was a 10cm diameter tumour around my gallbladder and a 4cm tumour on my liver and speckles on the bottom of my lungs. They were unable to operate, if they did it could kill me, so we have to rely on chemotherapy and other methods."
Marsters has not given up. She is seeking second and third opinions and there is a small chance that if the chemotherapy shrinks the tumours enough, they could be operated on.
Marsters has been overwhelmed with support from friends and whānau throughout her journey.
A group of friends realised bombarding her with messages of support could become tiresome so they came up with a more unique idea.
Marsters has chemotherapy treatments every Friday, which are extremely tough on body and mind.
So, every Friday, each of her friends takes a photo of the sunrise and posts it on Instagram with purple love hearts as a way of showing they are thinking about her.
As more and more people have seen the heartwarming gesture, it has taken off and every Friday, while recovering from chemotherapy, Marsters knows she can open up her Instagram and find comfort in a wave of purple hearts.
"Purple's my favourite colour. My friend Maureen thought of it first and I love it ... I think any kind of gesture of support is so nice.
"I don't want sympathy, I can't deal with people feeling sorry for me, I'm not that kind of person. I don't want your pity, I want your positive energy."
Marsters has been a dedicated member of Crossfit Rotorua since 2016 and last Saturday her gym whānau held a fundraiser to help pay for her treatment.
They put the call out for people to donate a koha to complete several workouts in pairs all while wearing purple.
People from all over region answered the call, both crossfitters and otherwise.
With donations and proceeds from cake stalls and raffles combined, the event raised $8348.50.
Marsters said when she arrived at the event and saw how many people were there "the tears started flowing".
"You could just feel it, everyone was here to love and support. People I didn't even know were there showing their support.
"This is my second home and it was the first time my family had been here to see what I do and my name on the leaderboards. They were blown away."
She said the money raised went a long way towards helping her pay for treatment.
"It gives me the opportunity to keep fighting and that gives me hope.
"I know that no matter what we'll find a way but there are people out there making donations ... It's so beautiful that people want to help like that and it takes a lot of the stress away.
"It helps me focus on waking up every day and kicking cancer's butt."
Crossfit Rotorua owner Munro Waerea described the turnout as "overwhelming" but said it showed how many lives Marsters has touched.
"Nahne is a people person, very well known and very caring," he said.
"Whenever we've held events or anything at the gym, she's always one of the first people to put her hand up. She's also one of the last to leave. The fundraiser reflected that in the amount of people who showed up."
Waerea said half the people who showed up to the fundraiser had never done crossfit but dived in to give it a go and show support.
"Nahne has a lot of respect from the crossfit community but also the wider community as well. She has a lot of mana, a lot of prestige, a lot of respect.
"When it comes to the strength and power components of crossfit, she totally dominates that arena. She holds most of our weightlifting records and nobody is coming close for a long time.
"She's mentally strong too, so if anyone is going to combat this disease and beat it, it's her. On a personal level, she has become a really good friend of my partner Lah and I, she's part of the whānau. I have heaps of love for her and her extended family."
Anyone wanting to follow Marsters' journey and find out ways to support her kaupapa can do so on her Instagram account: @nahnemarsters_vs_cancer_
Ministry of Health data from 2018 shows there were just 80 cases of gallbladder cancer throughout New Zealand that year.
Of those 80 cases, 27 were male and 53 were female. Nineteen were Māori and 61 were non-Māori.
The most common age range for the disease was 75+ with 38 of the 80 cases being within that range. Twenty-two were aged 65-74 and 20 were 45-64.
In 2018, nobody in New Zealand aged from 0 to 44 was diagnosed with gallbladder cancer.
Information provided to the Rotorua Daily Post from the Cancer Council Victoria via the Cancer Society of New Zealand suggests gallbladder cancer is uncommon and in its early stages may not cause symptoms.
Signs to watch out for include pain in the right side above the stomach, nausea, vomiting, weakness and jaundice (dark urine and pale bowel motions). Other signs include fever, chills, poor appetite and weight loss.
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