LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Kentucky Oaks Day Survivors Parade returns this year, where 149 cancer survivors will walk the grounds at Churchill Downs on Friday, May 5, a day before the Kentucky Derby.

What You Need To Know

  • This year, 149 cancer survivors will walk the grounds at Churchill Downs on Oaks Day

  • Amasetta Kah is among the survivors who’ll walk in the Survivors Parade

  • This will be the 15th annual Kentucky Oaks Day parade

  • The Kentucky Cancer Program, along with UofL Health, offers free mobile mammography services to women with no insurance needed

Amasetta Kah is among the survivors who’ll walk. She coaches gymnastics, and it’s been her passion for 23 years.

“Sometimes I would cry, sometimes [and] I would talk about it. Mostly, I was pretty reserved about it, though,” Kah said.

That’s the same strength she used, borrowing inspiration from the young girls when she navigated her cancer diagnosis.

“I actually was at the hospital with my father at the end of July 2021. And his cancer had returned, and I decided I would sign up for my mammogram on Norton MyChart,” Kah said. That’s when she learned of her diagnosis.

Fast forward to this year, after her double mastectomy, her step-sister nominated her for the Survivors Parade on Oaks Day.

“I’m just hoping it’s gonna be a nice day. I used to go to the Oaks all the time. We used to have box,” Kah said.

She’ll walk along with 148 others who’ve battled breast and ovarian cancers. Kah has spent the last few days adding last-minute touches to her Oaks Day outfit.

“In hindsight, it worked out. It was early enough. I got it taken care of early enough and moving right on with my life,” Kah said.

This will be the 15th annual Kentucky Oaks Day parade.

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