CHARLESTON, W.Va. — After surviving breast cancer five years ago, Agnes Judge found hope through her challenging journey, and now she’s spreading that hope on to others going through similar circumstances.
Judge has now embarked on a new journey to spread that hope– a 50-state hospital tour to raise awareness about breast cancer.
Charleston Area Medical Center’s Women and Children’s Hospital marked the 27th stop on her tour. She chose CAMC Women and Children’s as the West Virginia hospital she wanted to visit.
“When I went through that dark moment, I did not want other ladies to endure that,” Judge said, speaking to media during her hospital visit Tuesday. “I don’t want any cancer survivor who’s battling breast cancer or any type of cancer, I don’t want them to feel like the world is over, cancer is a diagnosis, not a death sentence.”
Judge was diagnosed with breast cancer in October of 2019 after experiencing multiple malignant lumps throughout the years since the 90s during her time serving as a soldier in the U.S. Army.
She said she had a difficult time accepting the diagnosis.
Judge visits Children’s Cancer unit at CAMC Women and Children’s
“It was a very frightening moment for me, I was terrified, I was mad, I was confused, I was in denial, but I knew this was something that I had to tackle,” she said.
Judge slipped into a very deep depression before she said a message from God brought her out of it, telling her that she needed to fight for her life.
Born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, Judge said she received all her medical consultations and treatments at MUSC Health University Medical Center in SC.
She said fortunately, she was able to catch the cancer before it spread to her lymph nodes, and was able to evade radiation and chemo therapy. That’s why Judge said early detection is crucial and can save lives.
Judge did, however, make the choice to get both of her breasts removed in a double mastectomy the same year of catching the cancer.
Another message from God, Judge said this 50-state tour she’s currently on is something she just had to do.
“This nationwide cancer journey is a life-changer for me,” said Judge. “God has summoned me to do this, to spread awareness, information and funding, I’m also donating, because I want to be a part of the cancer research, the cancer treatments, the cancer care.”
Judge made a $1,000 donation to the CAMC Foundation during her stop on Tuesday before paying a visit to breast cancer patients as well as the children’s’ cancer ward, where she would speak with kids suffering from the disease and empower them to keep fighting.
She said it’s very important that others donate to the cause as well as it helps researchers become one step closer in finding a cure so others’ lives and the lives of their loved ones don’t have to be taken by the disease.
“I just don’t want anyone to endure what I have endured, so we’ve got to find a way to eradicate this cancer thing, we’ve got to, it’s crucial,” Judge said.
After beginning her tour in June of last year, Judge said she expects it to take her until March of next year in 2025 to make her way around to all 50 states. She expected to head for Kentucky once she left West Virginia.