Paint El Paseo Pink Walk helps raise money and awareness for breast cancer

“I have one set of beads for each year cancer free and one for good luck," Lisa Dean told News Channel 3. "The rest is just extra because we’re celebrating life and happiness and being cancer free!” she said.

Lisa Dean from Cathedral City has been cancer free for three years. On Saturday she participated in the virtual Paint El Paseo Pink walk for breast cancer awareness.

“We do this every year just to support Desert Cancer Foundation,” Dean said.

The walk looked very different this year. Many people participated by walking in their own neighborhoods.

“I do it every year and unfortunately this is 2020 and not everybody is here like it normally is with all the fun and excitement and bands and just the camaraderie with everybody but I decided to walk here just like normal,” Marg Dodge said.

Dean said how much this walk means to those who have or are currently fighting cancer.

“It means everything," she said. "It’s very much a community kind of situation. Nobody goes through cancer and fights it alone. You need your support team, you need your doctors, you need the community,” she added.

Some of the shops on El Paseo decorated pink in support.

“It was so inspiring and fun to walk into work and literally saw 20 people go by, everybody in pink, saw a couple of ladies in their pink wigs and their pink eyelashes and it’s just so inspiring,” Assistant Manager at Lilly Pulitzer, Krista Saari told News Channel 3.

She told News Channel 3 that her store is also hosting a breast cancer fundraiser.

“October 16 through 18 you can come to our store and 10 percent of the proceeds of what you purchase goes back to Eisenhower specifically,” Saari said.

All of the money raised from the Paint El Paseo Pink walk stays in the valley to help local residents with the cost of their cancer care.