Approximately 1,200 people came out to participate in 8th Annual Compton Walk for a Cure on Saturday, October 26 at Compton Unified School District’s Centennial High School, making it the largest outdoor event in Compton. The day of awareness and inspiration was hosted by Compton Unified School District Board of Trustees Vice President Satra Zurita, Compton Unified School District Board of Trustees, St. John’s Well Child, and SEIU Local 99, Danny Agena-Graphic Prints, and Downey Federal Credit Union, and UPS.

A fitting end to Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the walk encouraged awareness, support and early detection. “Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in women from cancer,” Satra Zurita shared sobering statistics about the disease from the American Cancer Society:

• 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.
• Approximately 40,920 women will die from breast cancer.
• The chance that a woman will die from breast cancer is about 1 in 38 (about 2.6%).
• About 266,120 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women.
• About 63,960 new cases of carcinoma in situ (CIS) will be diagnosed (CIS is non-invasive and is the earliest form of breast cancer).
• Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women (only lung cancer kills more women each year).
• Death rates from female breast cancer dropped 39% from 1989 to 2015.
• At this time there are more than 3.1 million breast cancer SURVIVORS in the United States. This includes women still being treated and those who have completed treatment.

The event featured music, vendors, food trucks and the talented Centennial and Compton High School Marching Bands. The Compton chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority as well as the members of the Compton Commission on the Status of Women were also on hand as volunteers and hostesses for the event.

CUSD Superintendent Dr. Darin Brawley, CUSD Board of Trustees, former Compton City Councilwoman and co-founder of the walk, Janna Zurita; Compton City Councilwoman Tanna McCoy; SEIU President Max Arias; UPS ambassador Trina Norman; and St. John’s Well Child and Family President & CEO Jim Mangia, all joined in welcoming the crowd and sharing their personal connections to the issue. They were joined by Susan G. Komen ambassador, Actor Kenneth Todd Nelson, who shared his own inspiring story about his fight against breast cancer, “I didn’t know that men could get breast cancer,” Nelson said as he encouraged men to get checked.

The walk culminated in attendees forming a human ribbon on the Centennial High School Athletic Field. All shouted, “It’s a great day in Compton!” as they waved, many hugging each other as tears streamed/rolled down their faces.

“This is personal,” one walker said, “My mother had breast cancer, her mother had breast cancer. I am determined for it to stop with me and for my daughters to not have to worry about whether they are next. This day is so important to us in the city—to help us know and feel we are not forgotten!”

“My heart is full,” shared Vice President Zurita, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017 and underwent a double mastectomy. “I have received so much of an outpouring of support and encouragement from survivors and their families in this city and across our district. It truly is a great day in Compton!”

8th Annual Compton Walk for a Cure at Centennial High School