She’s a devoted wife and mom with the friendly voice you’ve heard for almost a decade on WCCO Radio during the drive time – and she joins me for Episode Seven of The Healthy Matters Podcast. Jordana Green’s career in broadcast journalism began with big dreams as a young girl when she knew she wanted to be a reporter and news anchor.
“That was always my goal,” s
he explains. “So after college, I moved to New York City and I was what’s called an ‘AP’ or really an intern and associate producer at a TV station where I made $5 an hour. I took the bus back and forth from my parents’ house in Parsippany, New Jersey.”
Jordana’s energy and enthusiasm have been instrumental in launching every step in her successful career. After a couple of jobs in New York and then in Pennsylvania as a healthcare reporter, then in Indianapolis hosting a morning show, she found herself in Minnesota (after she found Minnesota), anchoring the news desk at FOX 29. She then helped Paul Douglas launch a national weather network, and today the two of them entertain audiences on WCCO Radio every afternoon.
It’s a fascinating trip down memory lane with Jordana as she retraces her career. But she’s had perhaps one of the most unique last few years of anybody I know. She shares with me her very public journey with leukemia, recapping her initial diagnosis, her treatments at Mayo Clinic and next steps during this episode.
“In the spring of 2020, right when the pandemic began, I wasn’t feeling well, but that’s also when everybody in Minnesota feels bad – our seasonal affective disorder is raging,” she explains.
“I was feeling very lethargic. I was having trouble focusing. I was having trouble sleeping, all of these things. I went to my doctor and I said, ‘I need some help. I don’t feel myself. I’m having trouble concentrating.’ I told them all my symptoms I was having, like hot flashes, almost like night sweats, and my doc’s like, ‘Oh, you’re probably in menopause.’ So they did some tests – no it, was not menopause. I went on and on like this for a few months.”
Some of the moments like these leading up to her diagnosis I found cringeworthy.
Along her journey Jordana has been honest, vulnerable and engaging – even finding opportunities to share bits of humor – like her kids lovingly teasing Jordana about her type of cancer, and that Minnesotans sometimes learn the latest information about their mom before they do.
Jordana is also thankful for the support she’s received from her listeners.
“The letters and the cards and the emails and the good energy from the people of the state of Minnesota have kept me alive,” she said. “I truly believe that they have buoyed me in my darkest times.”
“Cancer changes you,” she continues. “It changes your perspective on life. It changes your attitude about life. But I’m okay. I don’t feel depressed. I never wonder why it happened to me. Lots of people get cancer. Why not me? I feel lucky I’m alive.”
We learn much, much more about Jordana Green in Episode 7 of The Healthy Matters Podcast. Find out how she was finally diagnosed with cancer, her experience with COVID-19, and how she’s feeling now. Jordana’s inspiring story will brighten your day and encourage you to trust your instincts.
