Jordan Fights Back

Hello, everyone! Time for a life update: I have finished my 6th chemo and I go in for my 7th this Thursday. This means that I am over HALF WAY! I am so thankful for everyone's thoughts and prayers. Throughout this process they have really meant everything to me. After my last chemo, I felt fantastic. I was tired the day of, but since then, I have had hardly any side effects, except some dry mouth and very little nausea and headaches. So good, in fact, that I was able to attend a behind the scenes tour of College GameDay at JMU the day after chemo! This was a miracle, because usually I do not feel very good the day after chemo, but I felt great all day. I had such an amazing time at College GameDay. I was nominated by the Breeze, the school newspaper I work for, to do a behind the scenes tour with Maria Taylor since I can't be around crowds because of my white blood cell counts. My dad and I were able to follow Maria and Reva, the woman who runs the social media accounts, ar...

Hello, everyone! I come bearing good news! After receiving the results from Tuesday's PET scan, we found out today that this monster of a tumor (the entire gray mass seen below):  Has shrunk DRAMATICALLY! (see areas circled in red below).  Dr. Miller (my awesome doctor pictured below) told us that my tumor has shrunk to much less than half it's original size and there is very little activity in what's left. He said I am doing amazing with treatment and they couldn't be happier with the results. I have to say, I agree with him 😊   We will most likely get another PET scan after two cycles (four more rounds) of treatment to see how much (if any) is left. I will not be able to get a port, most likely, because my white blood cell counts are way too low and they are worried about infection. My PICC line is doing great though, so I'm not too dissapointed. To top off the day, I received a complimentary full body massage from the massage therapist at the ...

Hello everyone! Long time no post 😊. Sometimes it is hard to stay consistent with posting because when I feel bad I want to just lay in bed and sleep, and then when I feel good I want to be out doing stuff. Here are a few life updates since last time! Before I shaved my head, I wanted to learn how to put on makeup. I was lucky enough to have my friend Caitlynn show me how to buy and apply makeup. I know most people learn before they'r'e 21, but better late than never right? I have learned since shaving my head that applying makeup is a great way to express myself and it is a stress relief as well.  Another great resource for makeup is the Look Good, Feel Better program put on by the American Red Cross. All you have to do is sign up and they teach you how to put on makeup (and they give you a bag filled with over $250 worth of nice makeup!), tie scarves around your head, information on wigs, skin care, and nutrition. It was an amazing experience! Here is a picture of...

These past couple days have been kind of rough. Since I got chemo on Friday, I have been having really bad throat pain, jaw pain and just overall mouth pain. The best way I can describe it is it feels like someone has punched me on both sides of my jaw while having the worst strep throat of my life. Other than that though, my nausea has been pretty under control and I've just had slight headaches. I haven't had much of an appetite, so I've been eating a lot of bland food like waffles and cereal. I've been having pretty bad chest and back pain the past couple of days, but the nurse said it's most likely just from my tumor taking up a third of my chest and pressing against my lungs. BUT THIS CHEMO IS KICKING THE TUMOR'S BUTT. So that's good! Yesterday, I had to go take a pulmonary function test to see how well my lungs are working. One of the types of chemo I am getting can affect your white blood count and your lung health, which puts you at risk for lung i...

"We found a large mass in your chest that we are very concerned about." That one sentence suddenly flipped my world upside down. My name is Jordan Cook and I am 21 years old. On Thursday August 3rd, 2017 I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Fast forward three weeks, and I am recovering from my second chemotherapy treatment. This month has been a whirlwind to say the least, but let's start the story back in June. On June 6 after finishing my junior year at JMU, I moved to Washington D.C. to begin an internship at Booz Allen Hamilton. I was so excited to join such a prestigious company and incorporate what I had learned in school to real client-facing issues. I was put on a team of five other interns and two team leaders. The goal of the internship was to solve a real world problem your team was given and present your solution at the end of the summer. The winning team would win the Challenge Cup. About two or three weeks into my internship, I started...