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Prevention

Primary cancer prevention means to take the necessary precautions to prevent the occurrence of cancer in the first place or prevent cancer from ever destroying so much as one cell. It is health and wellness. It is the absence of disease. Primary cancer prevention includes efforts made to reduce the risk of cancer. The American Cancer Society refers to cancer prevention as synonymous with the primary prevention of cancer.

The American Cancer Society's Prevention programs primarily focus on tobacco control, the relationship between diet and cancer, comprehensive school health education, and reducing the risk of skin cancer.

The programs are divided into two priority audiences: adults and youth. Adults are reached through worksites, healthsites, the media and the community. Health care professionals are a major secondary audience because of their important influence on health behavior. Volunteers are recruited and trained to promote and deliver programs, and to support prevention-related health advocacy measures, especially in tobacco control.

Examples of adult education include Taking Control, which identifies 10 steps to a healthier lifestyle and Smart Move!, a single-session stop-smoking program.

The Society has joined other health, education and social service agencies to promote Comprehensive School Health Education and National School Health Education Standards. Comprehensive school health education is the best way to deliver a planned health education curricula from pre-school to grade 12. The Standards describe for schools, parents, and communities what our children should know about health and what health education should enable them to do.

The Society's school health education programs emphasize the importance of developing good health habits. Beginning in pre-school, students learn about the dangers of tobacco use with Starting Free: Good Air for Me. Other prevention programs include: An Early Start to Good Health (grades K-3) and Do It Yourself--Making Healthy Choices (grades 4-6). Changing the Course curricula help elementary, intermediate, and secondary students make good dietary choices that will reduce their risk of developing a number of diseases, including cancer.

Great American SmokeScream

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