For the third year in a row, PinkPower was a sold-out success.

The annual Calgary Stampeders event raised a record amount of more than $48,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society. Thanks to the generosity of Stampeders fans, all of the special Reebok-produced pink Stamps toques and scarves were snapped up by fans attending Saturday’s game against the BC Lions, with all proceeds going to the Canadian Cancer Society.

The PinkPower program was conceived in 2008 by Penny Hufnagel, wife of Stamps general manager/head coach John Hufnagel, and has now raised in excess of $100,000 for the CCS over three years of existence.

Wes Lysack, the Stamps’ spokeperson for the Canadian Cancer Society for the past three seasons, is an integral part of the campaign that is near to the hard-hitting defender’s heart. Lysack’s grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 and his paternal grandmother passed away from the disease when he was 10 years old.

“I knew we could count on Stamps fans for their generosity and of course they delivered again,” said Lysack. “Every single toque and scarf sold will make a big difference in the fight against cancer. On behalf of Penny Hufnagel and the Calgary Stampeders, I want to thank everyone for supporting this event and joining us in the fight to make cancer history.”

“On behalf of the Canadian Cancer Society, I would like to thank Stampeders fans for again making PinkPower a success,” said Tiffany Kraus, marketing and communications manager for the Alberta/Northwest Territories branch of the CCS. “With early detection, breast cancer is 90 per cent beatable and because of events like PinkPower, more people know that. But much more than the statistics, beating cancer means that we have our grandmothers, mothers, sisters and friends around a lot longer. That’s what PinkPower is about.”

In addition to providing $1.6 million to the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance, the Canadian Cancer Society is also dedicating $2.4 million in 2010-2011 to fund a broad range of breast cancer research projects across Canada. This year, more than 23,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in Canada, and one in nine have a chance of developing breast cancer in her lifetime.