Naples lacrosse player Jack Hoaglund beats cancer to return to action

When Naples High School senior lacrosse attack player Jack Hoaglund has a stick in his hand, he’s looking to score. Now that he’s back to practicing with the team, he can do just that.

“I love it. Feel like a kid again,” Hoaglund said.

It’s no secret that Hoaglund loves to compete but he’s missed two years of that. During his sophomore season, Hoaglund noticed something was off.

“Just started slowing down a little bit,’ Hoaglund explained. “Out of breath, muscle fatigue, and was losing weight. Didn’t know what was up.”

After a year of tests and playing through the pain, doctors found a cancerous tumor in Hoaglund’s small intestine.

When asked about if he feared the worst, Hoaglund responded, “it always crosses your mind I mean to one wants to die. I’m only 18. But can’t think about it. Can’t think like that. You got to stay positive. Trust God. He’s got a plan. Just stick with it.”

With that mindset, the attack player, who craves competition, attacked thirteen weeks of chemotherapy and several surgeries.

“I was in the hospital for 80 percent of the three months,” Hoaglund recalled. “Really fatiguing, boring you know just watching YouTube all day. Can’t go outside because your immune system is really low because the chemo absolutely kills your body and everything in it.”

Hoaglund’s end goal was to get back to his life and his sport. It was mission accomplished once Hoaglund was told he was cancer free.

“It’s probably the toughest thing I’ve ever gone through to be honest but just a pretty big accomplishment for me.”

Hoaglund is grateful for his family, friends, teammates and school for helping him through his fight. He’s excited to play his first game since beating cancer as the Golden Eagles go for a state title.