Cancer Prevention Starts in Childhood

September 7, 2019SparksHealth InformationCancerChildHuman papillomavirus (HPV)SmokingSunburn4

* Get your kids vaccinated against Human papillomavirus (HPV)

You can lower your children’s risk of getting cancer later in life by getting them vaccinated against Human papillomavirus (HPV) and helping them make healthy choices.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common virus that is passed from one person to another during sex. It can cause cervical and other kinds of cancer. Some cancers of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus, and oropharynx (back of the throat, including the base of the tongue and tonsils) are caused by HPV.

The HPV vaccine protects against the types of HPV that most commonly cause cancer. Both boys and girls should be vaccinated when they are 11 or 12 years old. The vaccine can be given to teen girls and young women through 26 years and teen boys and young men through 21 years who weren’t vaccinated when they were younger.

*Talk to Your Kids About Smoking and Cancer

Nearly 9 out of 10 people who smoke cigarettes first try them by age 18, and 98% by age 26. In 2018, more than 1 in 4 high school students and about 1 in 14 middle school students had used a tobacco product in the past 30 days. Talk to your children about why you don’t want them to smoke.

Smoke from other people’s cigarettes (secondhand smoke) can cause serious health problems in children and adults, including lung cancer in adults who have never smoked. Don’t expose your children to secondhand smoke.

*Stay safe in the sun

Daily outdoor activities such as going to school, running, walking the dog, and going to the park could predispose your kid to skin cancer. Just a few serious sunburns can increase your child’s risk of skin cancer later in life.

SOURCE: Centres for Disease Control and Prevention