Clovis Community Medical Center holds its first 'Go Pink Day' for breast cancer awareness

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- On the day Deirdre Poole was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2022, she was given a necklace that says "hope."

She held onto that word throughout months of treatment and received support from survivors around her before ultimately becoming one herself.

"Survivor just means living life to the fullest. You wake up every morning, and you don't want to let your day go by 'gosh, I wish I would've done something'," Poole said.

RELATED: Women with denser breast tissue have a higher risk for breast cancer

For Ami Ho, the fight against breast cancer is personal in more ways than one. It took the life of her aunt, before she was diagnosed herself.

Now as a nurse, she dedicates her life to helping others through the long process each step of the way.

"I decided that it was so difficult navigating through the social aspect, the mental health aspect, and just going through treatments yourself, I figured that it would be beneficial for other patients for me to help being there," Ho said.

RELATED: The American Cancer Society releases its new breast cancer report

The first annual "Go Pink" event at Clovis Community Medical Center (CCMC) highlights the key to early detection and education with booths and activities.

There's even a giant inflatable breast that gives folks an informational inside look into breast cancer.

"So what we're visualizing is this would be our back wall or scapula and these would be our lubules," said Eliza Perez with Medical Inflatables.

The one-of-a-kind experience visually looks deeper into the causes and ways of detecting cancer early.

"If we don't detect it early on and we don't get to our doctors to get medical treatment. This is a difference between my death," Perez said.

The hospital's high-risk breast clinic is seeing the number of high-risk women increase by the day.

"The more we're doing these numbers, the more we're calculating, the more we're asking these questions, the more we're realizing that there's more women who are out there who needing this closer attention," CCMC high-risk breast clinic nurse Therese Hinz said.

One in eight mothers, sisters, and wives are impacted by the disease.

But events like these hope to bring change and save lives.

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