Cancer prevention starts in early childhood
This is Cancer Prevention Action Week (Feb. 17-23). It's devoted to helping people make small changes in their daily lives to help prevent cancer later on. The earlier you start, the more successful you'll be, so in Mommy Matters, five ways to start cancer prevention with your children.
Don't smoke, vape, or use tobacco products. If you smoke, quit. Explain to your children why it's a bad habit. We generally associate smoking with lung cancer, but it's also linked to mouth and throat cancer, bladder cancer and pancreatic cancer.
Protect yourself from the sun. Use sunscreen, stay in the shade, limit time in the sun, and avoid tanning beds. Statistics from the CDC show even a few sunburns in childhood can increase your risk of skin cancer as an adult.
Be physically active and control your weight. Overweight children usually grow up to be overweight adults. Studies show people at a healthy weight tend to have a lower risk of developing breast, liver, colon, kidney and pancreatic cancer.
Eat healthy foods and avoid alcohol use. Avoid processed foods. Instead, doctors say you should focus on fruits and vegetables and lean meats. Drink alcohol only in moderation.
Get the HPV and Hepatitis B vaccines. Hepatitis B is linked to liver cancer. HPV can cause cervical and other genital cancers. It can also lead to cancer in the head and neck. The CDC says the HPV vaccine is safe for children starting at nine years old.
One more thing we should all do is get regular medical exams. If you get a yearly checkup, doctors will be more likely to find any cancers early, and that will increase your chance for successful treatment.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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