Crystal Davis’s Story

What does it mean to return to Runway this year?

This year, Crystal Davis returns to Runway for Recovery as a survivor, advocate, board member, and recipient of the 2026 Ilene Beal Legacy of Leadership Award.

For Crystal, the honor reflects what she has tried to do since surviving breast cancer: use her life, her voice, and her experience to support others.

Back in 2016, she shared, “My oncologist said, ‘I am not sure why you are still here. But I believe my role is to be a support to others battling breast cancer.”

Now 18 years cancer free, Crystal is still celebrating life — and still making sure others do not have to face breast cancer alone.

 

Why is this award so meaningful?

The Ilene Beal Legacy of Leadership Award recognizes leadership, service, and a commitment to carrying Runway’s mission forward. For Crystal, those values are deeply personal.

She has spent the past seventeen years caring for patients and families as a nurse in the Neurology Intensive Care Unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Long before she joined Runway’s board, care was already part of who she was.

But in 2008, Crystal experienced care from the other side.

She was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer, and for 22 months, she underwent treatment while her husband, Ronald, became her caretaker. The courage it took to survive came from many places: from Crystal herself, from Ronald, and from their two children, Nya and Kai.

Her life after cancer became a continuation of that care — not only as a nurse, but as an advocate and source of support for others facing a diagnosis.

 

Where did your Runway story begin?

Crystal first came to Runway for Recovery as someone who knew what it meant to survive breast cancer and keep celebrating life afterward.

In 2016, she introduced herself with a milestone: 

“My name is Crystal Davis, and I will be 8 years cancer free,” she shared then. “I am very excited for my first Runway for Recovery.”

That year, Crystal had recently celebrated what she called her “49+1” birthday. Her mantra was simple: “Celebrating Life.”

Years later, that phrase still captures her story.

Crystal does not take survivorship for granted. She sees it as a responsibility — a reason to show up, speak out, and remind others that support is available.

 

How did survivorship become advocacy?

Crystal has never treated survivorship as something to keep to herself.

While going through treatment, she completed the Susan G. Komen 3-Day cancer walk. That experience helped her see that movement, community, and visibility could become part of her healing.

Afterward, she knew she wanted to keep showing up.

“I knew then that I wanted to continue to dance and light up the stage for an organization that I believed in,” she says. “And Runway for Recovery has become just that.”

For Crystal, Runway is more than an event. It is a place where celebration becomes advocacy, where stories become connection, and where people impacted by breast cancer can feel supported, seen, and less alone.

 

What message do you want others to hear?

Crystal wants people to understand that getting care matters.

She knows some people feel afraid to go to the doctor. She knows trust can be complicated. But she also believes deeply in the importance of being diagnosed properly, treated fully, and supported throughout the process.

“It’s not just about yourself,” Crystal says. “It’s about your family. It’s about your children. It’s about your life.”

Her message is rooted in love and urgency: think of the people who need you here.

“We have to think of the people that need us in their lives,” she says. “This is something important that we need to do.”

Why is support so central to your story?

Crystal believes no one should have to navigate breast cancer alone.

“If you need additional support, Runway will help you get there,” she says. “We will support you with whatever you need — doctors’ visits, mental support, just to talk to someone, just for someone to be your advocate.”

That is the leadership Crystal brings to Runway: the leadership of someone who has been the patient, the nurse, the survivor, the advocate, and the person willing to stand beside someone else.

 

How do we celebrate Crystal this year?

This October, Runway celebrates Crystal Davis as a model, board member, 18-year breast cancer survivor, and recipient of the 2026 Ilene Beal Legacy of Leadership Award.

Her story began with survival, but it has grown into something larger: a life of service, advocacy, joy, and leadership.

Crystal is still celebrating life. Still supporting others. Still lighting up the stage.