LisaAnn Wheeler, who co-founded Reduce Your Risk along with Carolyn Byrd and Angela Prince, shares about Pinkapalooza—one of their biggest events of the year—and some practical ways women can reduce their risk of breast cancer.
CSRA CL: What does Pinkapalooza look like?
LisaAnn: It starts at 10am with our monthly survivor’s walk in the mall. At 10:30am, we have a catered breakfast for survivors. Then, the celebration begins at 11am with all the bells and whistles. We have a lot of community partners that come out and set up their tents—most are there to bless the survivors. It’s a sea of pink and hundreds of people come from all over the CSRA. It’s really fun and celebratory. We celebrate survivorship, but also memorialize those who were healed in heaven.
We also color the mall’s fountain water pink and have a big stage and tent to house performers and a fashion show. There are food trucks, a children’s zone with princesses and superheroes, and we do giveaways from the United Breast Cancer Foundation—they send us 150 bags worth $750 each that are given to survivors. We put together other bags too so that no one leaves without something.
CSRA CL: How can women be more aware and reduce their risk of breast cancer?
LisaAnn: Everybody talks about it in October, but breast cancer awareness is every month.
The Know Your Lemons Foundation has a great website for women to see the 12 signs of breast cancer and they have an app that reminds women to do their monthly breast self-exam. I can’t stress the importance of self-exams for women throughout their lives—starting with women in their 20s. If you know the lay of the land, you’re going to know when something comes up that wasn’t there prior, at which time you could investigate that with a primary care physician. Eighty-five percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer don’t have a family history of it, so monthly self-exams and annual mammograms are a must.
No one really talks about prevention either. Exercising, sleeping, eating well, reducing alcohol intake, and reducing stress all affect overall health and can possibly reduce the risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer.
CSRA CL: Does Reduce Your Risk host any other events throughout the year?
LisaAnn: We have a monthly walk at the mall on the first Saturday of every month. We also host a support group, for all cancer diagnoses, on the third Monday at 6pm of every month at The Hub. We have two signature events every year—Sundresses and Lemonade and Pinkapalooza. Sundresses and Lemonade came about through my partnership with Know Your Lemons Foundation, where they educate women on the 12 signs of breast cancer. At that event, we have a fashion show, performers, beautiful lunch testimonies, and we give away gifts to survivors. It’s one of our signature events and our Annual Fundraiser.
This year, Pinkapalooza happens Saturday, October 4, 2026 at the Augusta Mall. To learn more about Pinkapalooza and see what Reduce Your Risk is doing to promote breast cancer awareness, visit Reduce Your Risk on Facebook, email ReduceYourRiskInc@gmail.com, or call (706) 842-8807.