Get Pinked 2014: Campaign to support breast cancer awareness gears up for fourth year

Oct. 03--FARMINGTON -- Organizers of the "Get Pinked" campaign plan to keep their fundraising momentum going so they can help San Juan County women diagnosed with breast cancer cover healthcare costs.

Entering its fourth year, the Get Pinked San Juan County campaign organized by the San Juan Medical Foundation is hoping to raise $175,000 for the Cathy Lincoln Memorial Cancer Fund, named for a San Juan Regional Medical Center nurse who died from breast cancer.

A wide range of events will take place in October to raise money for the fund. The Get Pinked Rally kicks off the campaign on Oct. 4 in McGee Park with food and game booths, music and an attempt to set a new Guinness World Record.

John Oliphant, foundation executive director, said Get Pinked Rally participants will be trying to set the record for the largest dance to the song "Gangnam Style" by Psy after last year's attempt was rained out.

This is the first year the rally will take place at the beginning of the campaign.

"We thought a kick-off rally would ... get more people involved," Oliphant said.

Other annual events scheduled include the benefit race and auction at Aztec Speedway and the 1-mile fun walk, 5k run and obstacle/mud run organized by the Bloomfield Fire Department.

Brenda Shepherd, foundation assistant manager of operations, said a new volunteer group called the Get Pinked Ambassadors have been helping by reaching out to businesses to see if they want to participate in the campaign.

"They are working really hard and they are out talking to businesses and they'll be attending a lot of the events in October," Shepherd said. "It's a major help to the foundation."

The Cathy Lincoln Memorial Fund was created to ensure women with breast cancer have access to treatments and tests that can catch the cancer early.

Jamie Lujan, Lincoln's daughter, said she remembers late night talks with her mother about women struggling with the costs associated with medical treatments.

"It was extremely important to my mom they get help," Lujan said.

When Lincoln died from breast cancer in 2001, Lujan said she wanted to make sure something good would come from her mother's death.

Shepherd said the fund was established in October 2011 by friends and family to ensure women in San Juan County diagnosed with breast cancer would not have to struggle to pay for diagnostic tests and treatments they needed early on.

"They didn't want any women not to get a mammogram simply because they couldn't afford it," Shepherd said. "She saw in her nursing, many women that came in when it was too late. ... That was one of her final wishes, that someone would start a fund to help these women because she was seeing it more and more."

Shepherd said the fund helped 11 women the first year and has helped more than 1,300 women in the last 13 years.

The foundation works with area doctor's offices to identify women who could benefit from the fund and after an application is approved, the fund can help pay for medications, transportation costs and diagnostic tests.

Oliphant said the fund helps women who are under-insured or uninsured. He said they have only turned down a "handful" of applicants, and those either made too much money or had sufficient insurance.

Joshua Kellogg covers education forThe Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4527 and jkellogg@daily-times.com. Follow him @jkelloggdt on Twitter.

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