FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Signs are up around Kentucky State University's campus reminding people about the 5th annual Crystal Blossom Breast Cancer Walk on campus Friday. LEX 18 sat down with the organization's chair, Cleo Jones Whitley, to learn more about her sister, Crystal Jones Woodard.
Cleo says, "My sister was very fit, a healthy eater, she was a runner that's why we do this race and continue it every year and we really thought she could beat this aggressive cancer."
Crystal was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in 2018. It's the most aggressive form of breast cancer. She started raising awareness and helping others through this walk even as she battled the disease herself.
Her sister says, "It was the first ever of a breast cancer race to be implemented at a HBCU."
The walk will be held on Friday, Oct. 4, at 7:00 a.m. at KSU. Crystal was an alum. Crystal Blossom started a scholarship to help students who had a similar passion for social work as she did. Crystal made sure this walk also raised money to help breast cancer patients who struggle to get to treatment.
Pete Whitley, the organization’s treasurer, says, "From those proceeds that we got from that initial 3k, we made a donation to brown cancer in honor of crystal at that time to provide transportation resources for those patients."
The 3K will circle this track. Community partners and friends -- including Crystal's Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority sisters -- will be there to support. Cleo really wants people to understand how important regular screenings are.
She says, "We're encouraging women to get mammograms and if you have dense breast request an MRI imaging or a sonogram imaging of your breast if you have dense fatty breast."
This organization wants to change and celebrate lives. Cleo says she wants people to remember who her sister was and continue carrying her light.
"That she celebrated life. And this race is not only in honor of my sister, we are also celebrating our cancer survivors,” says Cleo.
