As many in the SurvivorNet community know, a cancer diagnosis bring priorities into clear focus. For reality-TV star Tamara Judge, 55, that diagnosis was her ex-husband’s.
Judge and her ex-husband, Simon Barney, 56, had a messy divorce. But when he shared with her his stage 3 throat cancer diagnosis, the news prompted Judge to exit her role on “Real Housewives of Orange County” after 12 seasons to be there for her ex, and to deal with his cancer as a family. (They have three children, Spencer, 19, and daughters Sidney, 21 and Sophia, 14.)
Read MoreOn “RHOC,” she says, “people are screaming and yelling and arguing about things that don't even matter. Life is precious, and you don't get that time back."
She’s encouraged, she told People, by Barney’s outlook: “I like that he's being positive, and he's being super positive around the kids. I think he has a great outlook, and most people who beat cancer have a similar outlook, so I see that."
Tamara Judge’s Own Brush With Cancer: Melanoma
Judge faced her own brush with cancer when doctors treated her for melanoma. She showed a photo of the spot in an Instagram post: “this is what melanoma looks like,” she wrote. “I don’t want sympathy, I want you to save YOUR ASS and get your skin checked . This was just a small black flat freckle…. I had no idea!”
She added, “I’ve been a little sad , worried and pissed off. But we caught it early and that makes me happy.”
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