35°
During her four years of undergrad, the California native immersed herself in campus life, joining a sorority, becoming a member of the cheerleading team and serving as an orientation counselor.
Seven years after graduating, the Villanova community has come through once again for now-28-year-old Doke, who is in the midst of a battle against an extremely rare form of cancer.
Last month, Doke posted a TikTok in search of the highly sought-after Taylor Swift concert tickets at her friends' urging. The Villanova community was imperative in getting Doke's video into the right hands: Those of another Nova grad, whose major company ultimately bought Doke a pair of "Eras Tour" tickets for the Houston concert at NRG Stadium on April 23.
The show will be all the more special as Doke was a Villanova cheerleader at NRG Stadium, when the university's basketball team won the National Championship in 2016.
Doke says the gestures within the Villanova community have brought her more joy than she ever could've imagined.
"Social media can be a dark place for me — I see so many people living experiences that I might not get to," said Doke, who is in partial remission from adrenal cortical carcinoma.
"Making this TikTok and having so many people reach out to me and exhibit so much kindness... during such a dark time in my life speaks to the Villanova community, and just how kind and giving they are. Social media has brought a lot of positivity in my life because of this."
Doke graduated from Villanova in 2016 and, then veterinary school at the University of Illinois four years later. When she finished, she continued her studies in Iowa to become specialized in animal oncology.
Around this time last year, in the middle of her training, Doke started to feel off.
"My face was getting a bit puffy and my abdomen was bloated and distended," Doke recalls. "I felt like something wasn't right."
Being without a doctor in Iowa, Doke went to a walk-in clinic. Within days, her symptoms had progressed to severe abdominal pain. Finally, Doke's boss told her to go to the ER.
"By the time I was there I was in so much pain — retching and experiencing the most pain I'd ever experienced in my life," Doke recalled.
A CT scan found she was bleeding internally and had an adrenal tumor. She was airlifted to another facility.
Last August, Doke underwent surgery to have part of her kidney removed, along with part of her diaphragm, several lymph nodes, her liver and more. A follow-up scan found more disease in Doke's liver, and so, she was transferred to MD Anderson in Houston, one of the top cancer hospitals in the nation.
There, Doke had four cycles of chemotherapy, each one about four days long. Her treatment proved effective, as a recent scan found the cancer is vanishing, putting her into partial remission.
Doke says having cancer has faced her with her own mortality, and many days, has more downs than ups.
And so, when she heard that Taylor Swift's tour would be stopping in Houston, she thought going with some friends would be sure-fire way to lift her spirits.
Realizing that scoring a pairing of tickets wouldn't be so easy, Doke's friends recommended she make a TikTok video as a callout.
"I had only made two TikToks ever, in 2020 when it first gained popularity," Doke said. "So I made a 'Get Ready With Me' video, because that's trending, and one of my best friends from college edited the video and within an hour it had 800 views and all these people tagging Taylor Swift."
Doke posted the clip to her Instagram tory where one of her sorority sisters saw it. She was able to get the video posted to the novanationer account, a Villanova fan account with 39K followers.
"The next day, the amount of messages and likes and support that I received was just breathtaking," Doke said. "People were willing to chip in funds, buy tickets, host fundraisers, or were just offering thoughts, prayers and kindness."
Through the novanationer account, the video caught the attention of Phil Holt, whose family owns Holt Logistics. Holt bought the longtime Swiftie a pair of tickets to the April 23 show at NRG.
Doke says she'll be taking her boyfriend, a newly-converted Swiftie.
Beyond the concert itself, Doke says making her TikTok video has brought her positivity and support that she otherwise wouldn't have seen: It's helped connect her with others battling her rare disease, spawned unlikely friendships and reconnected her with her alma mater in an unexpected way.
"Up until recently I'd never met anyone with my diagnosis, and that can be really isolating," Doke said. "You constantly ask yourself, 'Why me?' And you deal with a lot of grief over the loss of your career, the normal life you used to have, potentially not having a family or getting married.
"I dealt with a lot of depression and anxiety, things I've never dealt with before, so I experienced a rollercoaster of emotions.
"It means a lot to me how many people have reached out, because hopefully I've touched them in some way or another — or meant something to them."
Click here to follow Daily Voice Gaithersburg and receive free news updates.
