Our Mission
Kids Who Care: Having Conversations One at a Time, to Prevent Cancer in Their Loved Ones and Communities
We are a youth lead initiative empowering kids to speak up, get involved, and help save lives in the battle against cancer. Here are four important ways in which you can help your parents, loved ones, communities and yourselves.
Encourage adults in your life to get screened for cancer, on time.
Depending on guidelines, adults need to get screened for a variety of different cancers including colorectal cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer and other cancers depending on risk factors. Sometimes our parents, and other adults in our lives, are so busy that they forget to get screened. As kids, we have the power to remind them to get screened on time.
Act early on concerning symptoms.
Cancer can present with different symptoms or signs, which can vary depending on the type of cancer. For example, rectal bleeding is an important symptom that can be associated with colorectal cancer. Do not let your parents, loved ones, friends and others in your community put off talking to their provider about symptoms, so they can figure out next steps .
Know your family history of cancer
The types of cancer that run in a family are critical pieces of information. This can determine what cancers family members need to be screened for and at what age screening should begin. Sometimes, genetic testing may be needed to figure out if there are changes in the DNA that may run in families that increase cancer risk. A great time for kids to ask about family history is during the holidays, when everyone is together.
Foster a healthy diet and lifestyle
There are certain risk factors for cancer that are modifiable, meaning that we can change these risk factors, which can decrease the risk of developing cancer. Eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, being phsyically active and avoiding things that can increase cancer risk such as tobacco and alcohol are important for general health and to decrease cancer risk.