Pink Patches on patrol: Fresno-area law enforcement kicks off Breast Cancer Awareness Month

In front of a serenity garden and a fountain with the message “Every Moment Matters,” more than a dozen law enforcement agencies joined forces at Community Medical Cancer Institute on Thursday to kick off their Pink Patch campaign to raise funds during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

Each agency created its own design on a Pink Patch to sell.

Two breast cancer survivors, Joanne Magarian and Arlene Banuelos, were honored during a bell-ringing ceremony at the event, attended by around 75 family, friends, hospital staff and law enforcement personnel.

Magarian, a 16-year breast cancer survivor and wife of former Fresno County Sheriff Steve Magarian, was surprised at being honored during the ceremony.

“I always want to be supportive of any event that will bring awareness to everyone of the increased possibility of being a survivor with early detection,” she said. “We need to make sure everyone knows that facilities like this are here to help them on the road to recovery. There are more and more survivors every year, but I want it to be that everyone is surviving breast cancer; it isn’t a death sentence. That’s what I’d like to see happen in my lifetime.”

A centerpiece of the event was a pink SUV from Fresno Acura, emblazoned with breast cancer awareness signs. Attendees wrote messages of hope on the car.