LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It's no secret Cyndi McHolland loves to garden. Take a quick trip to her house and she'll give you a guided tour of each flower and tree in her backyard.
"Look at my Poppies. I don't think I've ever seen something so delicate. Aren't they pretty? And look how many there are. They're rather invasive," she said.
Invasive, much like McHolland's breast cancer. She was diagnosed in 2004. Years later, she was one of the first people to walk in the Oaks Day Survivors Parade at Churchill Downs.
"I actually walked in the first two," McHolland said.
About five years ago, she got a call no one wants to get: the cancer had spread.
"I didn't want to tell anybody. I sort of felt like, I'd been representing myself as a survivor all these years and now I didn't feel like one anymore. I was afraid I'd scare people because of how much it scared me. Then, you find all the reasons to be strong and all the people who help you be strong and you get to do some things over," McHolland said.
On Friday, McHolland will once again walk in the Survivors Parade.
"It's a thrill, to have everyone cheering you on. It's amazing," she said.
A whole team of supporters.
"I can't help it. I'm a UK fan. And Matt Jones, he's my little hero out there. That's on my bucket list, to meet Matt Jones, from [Kentucky Sports Radio], isn't that ridiculous?" McHolland laughed. "Because sometimes when I am sad, he's right there telling some stupid joke."
When she isn't undergoing chemo, McHolland's in her garden.
"I forget I'm sick," she said. "I used to think, I gardened and I kept the garden alive. But several years ago, I realized, my garden keeps me alive. Throughout these five years of the metastatic breast disease, I've gotten braver. That's not to say I don't get afraid. I read enough to know it's going to get me, but not today."
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The Survivors Parade is one of the most heartwarming traditions during the Kentucky Oaks.
This year will mark ten years of the parade as the Longines Kentucky Oaks Pink Out celebration. The Pink Out raises money to help provide care to local women who lack access to breast health screenings and services through partnerships with Churchill Downs, Derby Divas, and the Norton Cancer Institute.
Over the last decade, Pink Out has raised nearly $1 million. The money raised this year will be used to renovate the Norton Prevention & Wellness Mobile Prevention Center, which provides free screening services to patients age 40 and older in Jefferson and surrounding counties.
You can see a full list of the participants in this year's Survivors Parade and get more information here.
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