Hudson Nominated For Survivor Parade

Kathi Hudson needs your vote, not for president, but for the Kentucky Oaks Survivor Parade. The Survivors Parade is a march of breast and ovarian cancer survivors which takes place at the historic Churchill Downs racetrack Friday, March 4. 144 breast and ovarian cancer survivors will walk in the parade in honor of the 144th running of the Longines Kentucky Oaks race.

Hudson was nominated by her daughter, Sara Cunningham, who wrote in her nomination “My mom is and always has been the rock of our family. Not just for my sister, brother and me, but for my dad, her parents and her sisters.”

Cunningham was quick to voice the importance of getting her mother’s story out, “We want people to know how important mammograms and early detection can be,” she said.

Early detection, quick action, great doctors and the power of prayer are what Hudson contributes to her recovery.

Hudson was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer on Jan. 27, 2017 after her mammogram and ultrasound showed a mass.

“I was very fortunate that it was found so early. It is so important to have mammograms,” said Hudson.

Hudson works at Ephraim McDowell Dedman Primary Care with Melissa Sims ARPN and she pushed Hudson for immediate treatment with Dr. Peter Tate who made the diagnosis and Dr. Allen Beckman who was her oncologist.

“I was very lucky that they got me right in. I had very good doctors,” she said.

Hudson said everything happened quickly and by the end of May she had finished radiation and her last mammogram in November showed she was in recovery.

She will have her six month mammogram in May and hopes that if everything is fine, she can go to a yearly schedule.

“You may think in the back of your mind that it’s still in there, but you can’t live life that way. You have to get up everyday like your cancer free,” she said.

Hudson offered one piece of advice she has learned from her experience, “If you are able to take out a cancer policy, take it out.”

While Hudson is excited for the opportunity to hopefully walk in the parade she wasn’t overly thrilled about wearing a pink hat, “It will be fun, it will give me an excuse to buy a new dress.”

Hudson retained her optimistic outlook on life, but knows her journey with cancer could have been a lot more difficult, “The reason why everything went so well was because of the good Lord above and all the people praying for me.”

To vote for Hudson visit the website https://survivors.kentuckyderby.com/survivors/3222. Voting ends Sunday.

To learn more, check out this week’s issue of the Harrodsburg Herald.