LOUISVILLE, Ky. — We are just a little over a week away from Kentucky Oaks Day at Churchill Downs, and for the 16th year in a row they will host the Survivors Parade.
This is an event that honors women who survived breast and ovarian cancer. This year, it will have 150 participants, matching the milestone year.
One of the women chosen to take part in this event is Jennifer Day, a nurse practitioner who took her last IV chemo treatment in February 2022.
In just two years, her hair continues to grow back, just like the relationship she built with the team who helped her through treatments.
"This was my darkest time and they were always happy and upbeat and their positivity had an impact on me that day too," Day said.
Day is a wife, and the mother of two children.
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"I'm very active, working out all the time and I noticed some pain in my breast," Day said. "I had just finished breast feeding my youngest son probably six months before. I thought maybe it was something related to that. I mean there was a lot of why me, why mom at 36? That's part of it."
Medical oncologist Dr. Laila Agrawal at Norton Cancer Institute Brownsboro also helped Day through her journey and said they are noticing more women under 40 being diagnosed.
"Even if women are under that age of screening mammography, it's still really important to be aware of your body," Agrawal said. "Because often times that how breast cancer may be diagnosed in younger women."
Day is gearing up to take part of this year's Kentucky Oaks Survivors Parade, and she's not the first patient of Agrawal's to take part.
"I feel so proud of everything that they've come through and I will be there cheering her on," Agrawal said.
Day said she's ready to be share her smile with all the women attending the historic Derby.
"I never thought that I would be a part of history in this sense," Day said. "But my kids are my drive, my husband and my mom."
She wants to share some words of wisdom in hopes of saving another woman's life.
"Always advocate for yourself," Day said. "If something feels wrong, if something feels different, you know your body well, make an appointment. See your doctor and don't delay because my story would've been totally different if I had pushed off what I was feeling."
Norton Cancer Institute Brownsboro has been treating patients since 2018. They have treated 5,628 breast cancer and 416 ovarian cancer patients in 2023.
WHAS11 plans to be right by Day's side as she walks in the upcoming parade.
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