Cancer Shutout

Jordin Hood, a cancer survivor and the starting second baseman for the Northern Illinois University baseball team, takes batting practice on the university campus on Thursday. Hood, 20, was diagnosed with testicular cancer as a sophomore at Lake Zurich High School and says that the ordeal changed the way he lives his life. “Even if you have something bad in your life, you can accomplish things and succeed,” he said. Chronicle photo ERIC SUMBERG

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Disoriented and groggy from the aftereffects of anesthesia, Jordin Hood gasped as he awoke from surgery. The tiny white hospital room where Jordin took the first desperate breaths in the journey to save his life was like anyone else's who has had surgery for cancer. There were gracious parents and an array of medical equipment. But this was Jordin, a high school student with testicular cancer, who had a dream of playing professional baseball. Just three days earlier, Jordin had learned that his dream would take a life-changing detour. Testicular cancer is one that universally makes men cringe. It also is the most common form of cancer for men ages 15 to 35. If addressed when the abnormality is discovered, it usually is treated successfully. But because of the cringe factor, it's also easy to avoid. That's what Jordin was doing. As a sophomore at Lake Zurich High School near Chicago, Jordin was a typical teenager with normal teenage problems. He played on the school's baseball and basketball teams and had a close group of friends. But the problem he was trying to ignore - an enlarged testicle - brought him face-to-face with his own mortality. Had it not been for the timing of his mandatory school-sports physical, Jordin now knows that growth could have killed him. “I was shocked, but didn't know a lot about cancer,” said Jordin, who was a freshman All-American second baseman last season for Northern Illinois University's baseball team. “So it didn't hit me at first. It didn't hit me until I visited a couple doctors and got percentages on living versus dying.” Jordin was given a 30 percent chance to live at his first doctor's appointment after the growth was diagnosed as cancer. “Initially, I didn't think I'd be here,” Jordin said. “I thought living was a possibility, but doing the things I've done post-surgery and chemotherapy, I didn't think so.” Bombshell After that initial dire diagnosis, Jordin and his family found a new doctor with a more optimistic view. They turned to Dr. Timothy Kuzel, the director of the clinical research office for the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. Jordin's father, Bill Hood, also talked with Dr. Lawrence Einhorn, a distinguished professor of medicine at Indiana University. As a team, Kuzel and Einhorn would work together to rid Jordin's body of cancer. Einhorn is often considered a top expert in testicular cancer because of his work with cycling superstar Lance Armstrong. Another bombshell dropped soon after Jordin's initial diagnosis: The Hood family learned that the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes and lungs. It was a whirlwind three-day period where Hood went from walking the hallways of Lake Zurich High School to lying on an operating table with an unknown future. “It certainly was an emotional time,” Bill Hood said. “When we learned the cancer had progressed as far as it had and he needed surgery, I was devastated. It was the first time I had broken down in a long time.” As Bill and Kim Hood worked diligently to educate themselves on the various treatments and identify the best doctors, their son started on the long road to recovery. “It was a pretty radical surgery,” Bill Hood said of the procedure that made a small incision in his son's abdomen to remove a testicle. “We were told it might take a month before Jordin could walk without pain.” A week later, Jordin was on his feet and walking, feeding off an internal drive and the positive energy of his parents. “My parents were supportive the whole way,” Jordin said. “My dad saying he would have done anything to be in that chair instead of me made my heart drop. That meant a lot to me.” Those first days were grueling, but the Hoods knew the hard part was yet to come. Chemotherapy It was nicknamed Matilda - the silver, rolling medical device that held the chemotherapy Jordin received. But running through its metallic infrastructure was a vile dosage of the drug meant to eradicate the cancer taking over his body. Kim Hood has no idea how the name stuck to the device, but whenever Jordin had to get up to use the washroom or walk the hall during treatment, he would always tell the inanimate Matilda to follow. And as Matilda rolled down the hospital hallway, so did a chemotherapy treatment that was downright diabolical. It would tear apart Jordin's immune system, cause nausea and bring about rapid hair and weight loss. “The chemotherapy they were putting in his body was so poisonous the nurses had to wear an extra set of gloves.” Kim Hood said. “It was terrifying to sit there as it was fed into my son's body.” The chemotherapy Jordin received was personalized by Kuzel and Einhorn and lasted from October to January of his sophomore year at Lake Zurich. The Hoods would leave their home at 5:30 a.m. to begin the trek into Chicago for the treatments. “We would get into a routine with the treatments,” Kim Hood said. “Sometimes Jordin was so tired he'd sleep all the way there. We'd bundle him up and get him in the car. The parking garage attendants even got to know us, we were there so much.” Through the process, Jordin went from 185 pounds to about 140 pounds. He would attend class for three weeks and then miss a week to receive treatment at Northwestern. Being armed with a positive attitude is vital to beating the odds and beating cancer. With Matilda, a TV, the stunning view of Navy Pier from his hotel room and his parents by his side for each treatment, the chemotherapy wore down Jordin's body, but never his spirit. “It is very important to have a good attitude,” Einhorn said. “We call it ‘tumor humor.' Life will slap you around, but you have no control over it. “The cancer was fairly widespread, and it was a very tough chemotherapy, but Jordin never once batted an eye. He never questioned why it happened to him.” For Kim Hood, a near-sighted approach was necessary. “The surgery was the easy part,” she said. “Then the fight begins. If you look too far ahead, you will go crazy. You just take it one hour at a time.” That hour-by-hour approach included satisfying any craving their son had for food. “Naturally, whenever Jordin wanted a bagel or yogurt, whatever it was, I ran off to get it,” Kim Hood said. “Even if he could only take a bite of it, it was worth going to get.” Basketball game Despite being weakened by chemotherapy, Jordin stayed with the Lake Zurich basketball team. When he was too weak to ride the bus, his parents took him to the games. He even went on days he received chemo treatments. The entire Lake Zurich basketball team shaved their heads to support their teammate, his classmates raised money for a hand-held video game system, random checks came in to support the medical bills and Oregano's, a local restaurant, always had Jordin's favorite sandwich ready. The support network was also aided by Mike Allare and Luke Flamich, who have been best friends with Jordin since third grade. “On days he wasn't at school, we would go over to his house and watch a move or play cards,” Flamich said. “But he would tire out after a half-hour and need to rest. When your best friend endures this, you realize how important family and friends are.” Added Allare: “Jordin had the fight and drive to do what he wanted to do. He never made cancer an issue. He didn't want to live the rest of his life using cancer as an excuse.” One of the most touching moments came in the final seconds of a Lake Zurich basketball game in which Jordin played during treatments. After enduring chemotherapy, it was reason enough to celebrate simply taking the court. But Jordin scored the first time he touched the basketball. Bill and Kim Hood had been at every game - except this one. They had to catch the highlight on tape, and the reaction was probably the same as that of many who attended - tears. “It was so emotional after all he had been through,” Kim Hood said. Through cancer and chemotherapy, the Hoods and the community grew closer. “We didn't know how long Jordin would be here,” Kim Hood said. “So he got a gift every day he had chemotherapy. We even bought him a car.That's not something every 16-year-old needs, but we didn't know if he would be an 18- or 20-year-old. We wanted him to experience as much as he could.” The Future Since his battle with cancer, Jordin has focused his athletic energy solely on baseball. This spring, he will become eligible again for the MLB draft. Jordin is on virtually every pre-season watch list, and could plausibly have the opportunity to live out his dream of becoming a professional baseball player. “It is different with Jordin because of all he has been through,” Kim Hood said. “Most kids you would tell them the odds of playing pro are so small. But after beating the odds already, we want him to embrace his dream, because life is what you make it.” Jordin said the recent shooting on campus - a former NIU student killed five students and injured 16 other people before turning a gun on himself - has reminded him to not take anything for granted. “It's scary thinking about what happened,” Jordin said Thursday during the team's first practice since the attack. “I don't think it'll be that much different until we head back to class. That's when it'll sink in for me.” Jordin said he will continue to focus on becoming the best baseball player possible. He's finally at his desired weight - about 175 pounds - and has been given a clean bill of health, at least when it comes to cancer, after every screening he's been to for the past four years. “It was tough to put on the weight initially,” he said. “But it gave me something to drive for. It did push me and eventually I came back as a better athlete.” After five years, a cancer survivor is considered cancer-free. Jordin hopes to reach that mark in January 2009. Jordin's life experience stood out to NIU baseball coach Ed Mathey. “For me, I wanted Jordin in the program even more because he is a survivor,” Mathey said. “You talk about perspective, being well-balanced and determined. He's dealt with so many more life issues than other kids his age. That level of maturity and insight is something I like to have on our team.” Daily Chronicle Photographer Eric Sumberg contributed to this report.