Breast Cancer Awareness Day was held this year as the DECA community service project at Nansemond River High School.

About 266,120 women have invasive breast cancer. There are 63,960 new cases of carcinoma in situ, and 40,920 will die from breast cancer this year. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in America for women except for skin cancers.

Although breast cancer in men is rare, an estimated 2,470 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately 460 will die each year. On average, every two minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, and one woman will die of breast cancer every 13 minutes.

The DECA members prepared fliers for the classrooms and posters for the hallways to promote the Breast Cancer Awareness Day. The DECA members planned to have a variety of raffle drawings and games for the students to participate in during their lunch shift.

Tables were set up in the cafeteria during all four lunch shifts promoting breast cancer awareness. The students, faculty, staff and administration had an opportunity to visit the different tables and get information on breast cancer awareness, sign up for the raffles and play the games.

Guests from the CJA Foundation came and spoke to the students, faculty, and staff about breast cancer, teaching them about why it’s important to check for it. People traded facts about breast cancer with Gwendolyn Freeman, the owner of The Pink Box, in exchange for a cupcake. Those who didn’t have a fact to give about breast cancer bought a cupcake and were given a flier that had information about breast cancer on it. Inetha Rogers, a Paparazzi consultant, sold jewelry. A percentage of the money collected by Freeman and Rogers was donated to the CJA Foundation. The DECA organization gave a donation of $500 to the CJA Foundation.