Mid Hudson Times , Wednesday , March 29 , 2017 3
Fundraiser planned to help mayor pay for medical treatment
Continued from page 1
No more chemotherapy “ I have a lot of good days ,” Kennedy said last week .
Kennedy is battling three forms of cancer : ovarian , peritoneal and uterine cancer . “ The good news is it ’ s the same strain of cancer ,” she said . “ It ’ s confined to my lower abdomen . It hasn ’ t spread to my organs .”
Kennedy ’ s health journey has been somewhat of a roller coaster this past year . She was diagnosed at the onset of the city ’ s PFOS water crisis last year . She underwent chemotherapy as the city reeled from the shooting deaths of several young adults in the fall .
At first , the chemotherapy yielded positive test results . “ My body built resistance up to it ,” Kennedy said .
The treatments left her weak , depleted and “ less able to fight ,” she explained . “ In the long run , chemo is poison ,” the mayor said . “ I have made the decision to go out of the country to a clinic that will treat me differently .”
The therapy will involve detoxification , nutrition and immune-building , Kennedy said . “ You need to do what you can to help the body help itself - that is build the immune system ,” she said . “ That is the fire .”
Business and service
Kennedy had met with a small-business advocacy group and married three couples at City Hall by lunchtime last Friday .
“ Since I was kid , I believed I was put on this planet to serve ,” she said . “ The problem is , I haven ’ t taken care of my body in the process .”
Like many women during the 1960s and 1970s , Kennedy was a stay-at-home mother . A native of Idaho , she raised four boys and attended college after divorcing in the mid-1980s .
Kennedy earned a bachelor ’ s degree
Fuel truck overturns in business administration with a minor in computer science from Colorado State University . Among other achievements , she went on to work as a senior consultant for Hewlett-Packard . “ I was successful because I was always a problem solver ,” she said .
She also worked as a life coach . Kennedy studied with celebrity motivational speaker , businessman , author and selfhelp expert Tony Robbins . Kennedy happened to be taking a workshop with Robbins in Hawaii on 9 / 11 . “ That day was supposed to be about relationships ,” she said . “ He changed his curriculum on the fly .”
The message she took away from the workshop that day was one that stuck with her . “ When a disaster happens , the way we rise above it is to find our higher cause and to serve ,” Kennedy said .
Robbins teachings have proved useful in relation to her battle with cancer , she said . “ The idea of being certain and
Bob McCormick
The Cronomer Valley Fire Department was dispatched to an overturned fuel truck on Fostertown Road on March 25 . Approximately 2000 gallons was spilled . The Middle Hope Fire Department was called to the scene along with a Haz Mat team , Deputy fire coordinator 36-13 was at scene . One person was transported to Saint Lukes Cornwall Hospital . Police diverted traffic away from the scene . staying with the goal is serving me right now ,” she said .
City of Newburgh mayor
When Kennedy visited her son in Newburgh in the mid-2000s , she was smitten . “ It was the energy , the diversity ,” said Kennedy , speaking about the city . “ I ’ d never been in a city that I became so much a part of . It sucks you right in .”
She eventually purchased her son ’ s home on Grand Street . “ My taxes rose close to 50 percent in 2010 ,” Kennedy said , thanks to the city courthouse project .
She became involved in city politics . “ I organized and got 1,253 signatures on a petition and took it to Albany to get a control board in here to take control of the taxes ,” Kennedy said . In Albany , she was told that if she really wanted to change things , she should run for office .
Kennedy did just that . She was sworn-in as mayor in January , 2012 , and reelected in 2015 .
Kennedy has been a daily presence at board meetings , fundraisers , charity and civic events throughout her tenure . “ I have had to stop a lot of the periphery meetings ,” she said last week .
“ I have prioritized my time to do what the city charter lays out to do ,” the mayor said , including council meetings and marriages at City Hall . “ I have to put the life preserver on myself .”
According to the American Cancer Society , “ the relative five-year survival for stage III ovarian cancer is 34 percent .” Other sources cite slightly higher survival rates .
“ Most women diagnosed with stage III ovarian cancer have a five-year survival rate of approximately 39 percent ,” the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance states . “ Survival rates are often based on studies of large numbers of people , but they can ’ t predict what will happen in any particular person ’ s case .”
Kennedy does not let the numbers scare her . “ I ’ m not buying it ,” she said .
“ My expectation is to come back much stronger and on a path to recovery ,” she asserted . “ It ’ s not going happen overnight , but I ’ m determined to be well .”
The Hope for Judy Fundraiser will be held at 2 p . m . on Sunday , April 2 , in the Larkin Room at the Newburgh Armory Unity Center . The Newburgh Armory is located at 321 South William Street .
To make a donation , send a check or money order payable to Love Holds Life , 2345 Route 52 , Suite 2F Hopewell Junction , NY 12533 . Write “ Judy Kennedy ’ s cancer treatment ” on the memo line .