LOUISVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — The Kentucky Derby is so much more than just the big race. The build-up is an event in itself.
On Friday, Oaks Day has been the lead-in for the Derby since it started 150 years ago and has carved out its own special meaning in recent years. The relatively new tradition on Friday is the Oaks Survivors Parade.
It was the 16th annual celebration of those who have won their fight against cancer, and it led to some powerful emotions as they were finishing a different race.
The joint strides of survivors experiencing the full spectrum of emotions like Tracy Phillips.
"I was born and raised in Campbellsville, and I have lived here my whole life," she said. "We all enjoy going to the lake in summer. We're just normal people."
But in 2021, Tracy's everyday life was taken away, disrupted by a diagnosis no one ever wants to hear.
"Just a routine mammogram. They found a little spot and had me come back a few days later," she said. "We did another mammogram and an ultrasound and that came back as suspicious. Had a biopsy of one place in my breast and a lymph node. Both came back positive for cancer."
Doctors were able to remove the cancerous spot, but there was a strong chance the cancer could come back. So, Tracy underwent chemotherapy and radiation as a precaution.
"I did four chemo treatments three weeks apart," she said. "Then, I did 33 radiation treatments.
Tracy says breast cancer does not run in her family, and she's become a big advocate of women getting mammograms.
"If I didn't have that and it continued to grow, the outcome could've been different," she said.
Conveniently with Kentucky Derby 150, 150 patients and survivors walked the Oaks Survivors Parade this year.
