One week ago, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced on Facebook he was receiving his last chemotherapy treatment, ending an 18-month fight with late stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
During a press conference in June 2015, Hogan announced he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of the disease and allowed Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford to fill in for him when necessary, according to an article from The Washington Post.
The community reacted by creating the “#HoganStrong” movement and a website where people could buy wristbands, buttons, stickers and shirts, with all of the profits going toward cancer research. People could also send Hogan a digital “get well card” to show support.
“We’ve established HOGANSTRONG.com so that people can continue to extend their well-wishes to the Governor as he battles cancer and extend this wonderful sentiment of support to others who share in this battle,” the website says.
On Oct. 3, the governor said on Facebook he was “100 percent cancer free and in complete remission,” and included a photo of him smiling and flexing his arms while receiving his last treatment.
“After nearly a year and a half battle, I can’t tell you how it feels to be getting my very last chemo treatment today,” Hogan wrote. “I could never have made it to this point without the amazing support of my family, friends and staff, along with an incredible team of doctors and nurses.”
College Republicans President Jacob Veitch, a junior government and politics and international business major, said the campus organization is relieved by and supportive of this news.
“I know our chapter here and as a state wide organization have been very proud to support him through out his treatment for chemotherapy and we are very relieved that he can return to work at full capacity,” Veitch said.
Despite the governor’s illness, Veitch said Hogan has been successful in his work for the state.
“If a lot of people didn’t know he was going through this struggle they probably wouldn’t have realized it,” Veitch said. “We have always been very proud of what Larry Hogan has accomplished as governor.”
Hogan’s staff greeted him with waving signs and flags as he returned to Annapolis after his treatment, according to a video shared on his Facebook.
His staff was wearing “Hogan Strong” wristbands in support, and Hogan wrote in the post he was “thrilled” to cut off these wristbands as a symbol of victory in his battle against cancer.
A few hours after Monday’s announcement, Hogan also shared a video from the University of Maryland Children’s Hospital Concert in October 2015, where Tim McGraw dedicated the song “Live Like You Were Dying,” to him.
“My heart, my thoughts, and my prayers go out to all the other victims of cancer and their families,” Hogan wrote in another Oct. 3 post. “I plan to make the most of every single day I am given, and I won’t stop fighting until a cure is discovered for this terrible disease.”
And that fight is something Yumi Hogan, the governor’s wife, has been taking an active part of.
This past weekend, Yumi made a trip to John’s Hopkins Hospital Children’s Center to visit Juliana Carver, 12, who is battling cancer for the eighth time, according to the Angel’s for Juliana’s Facebook page, a page dedicated to sharing updates about Juliana’s battle with cancer. The state’s first lady has visited Juliana several times during the girl’s battle with cancer.
The governor also shared the video to his Facebook asking for prayers for the family.
Shareese Churchill, press secretary for the governor’s office, directed all questions for comment to the governor’s Facebook page, where the statements were written in his own words.
