Small Everyday Actions Can Help Prevent Cancer

Man and woman walking on a trail

February is National Cancer Prevention Month. Many things can affect your risk of getting cancer, including cigarette smoke, excess weight, too much alcohol, and UV rays from the sun. So, you can take a small step every day to lower your risk! Here are some ideas:

Pick a physical activity you enjoy and set aside time to do it.
Choose healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables.
Protect your skin from the sun.
Have a "mocktail" instead of an alcoholic drink.

Getting screening tests as recommended is the most important way to lower your cancer risk. Getting back to regular screenings may be hard now because of the pandemic. But when cancer is found early, treatment is likely to work best. Talk with your doctor about safety measures and when you can get screened.

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World Cancer Day: Closing the Care Gap

World Cancer Day Poster: "Where you live shouldn't determine if you live."

World Cancer Day (February 4) helps increase global awareness of cancer. The new theme, “Close the Care Gap,” focuses on building more equitable access to lifesaving cancer prevention, treatment, and care for all.

CDC’s programs, campaigns, and partnerships support equity in cancer prevention and control. This includes providing access to screening for people who are medically underserved and have low incomes, and resources to reach communities with higher rates of new cancer cases and deaths.

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NBC's “New Amsterdam” Takes on Breast Cancer Screening with Help from CDC

Character from NBC's "New Amsterdam"

Women with dense breast tissue are at a higher risk for breast cancer. Viewers of NBC’s medical drama, New Amsterdam, heard this message during season 4, episode 4, “Seed Money.” The storyline was inspired by a panel event organized by CDC’s Bring Your Brave campaign about health inequities and bias facing young Black women with breast cancer. The storyline featured key themes including doctor-patient communication and barriers to care. 3.3 million people watched the episode on October 12, 2021. The airing resulted in an all-year peak in Internet searches for information on dense breasts, including a 24% increase in visits to CDC’s page What Does It Mean to Have Dense Breasts?

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The Fight Against Childhood Cancer Features a Bright STAR

Photo of Scott

“I may have finished my treatment, but my job isn’t finished yet because we need more treatments for kids with cancer and a cure someday.” These are powerful words from Scott, a 13-year-old cancer survivor who was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 3 years old. Scott shares his cancer journey and how it inspired him to become a champion for programs that can help improve cancer treatment for children. CDC’s Childhood Cancer STAR Project is working to make data about childhood cancer available for research faster.

CDC Foundation's New Campaign Gets Real about Cancer Screenings

Get Screened campaign poster

The CDC Foundation has released a new campaign about the importance of cancer screenings with a unique and real point of view. The video, “Get Screened for Cancer” takes an honest approach to what many of us truly think about getting our routine mammogram, colonoscopy, or Pap test: they’re not fun!

This honesty was the inspiration for the campaign. The goal is to motivate people to schedule cancer screenings that are right for them with this message: screening is not fun, but the payoff is worth it!

A new guide to cancer screenings [PDF-407KB] includes the recommended ages for screening and how to find free or low-cost screening programs, including CDC’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. The CDC Foundation also encourages people with cancer to not delay or cancel their treatments. Learn how to protect your health during treatment from CDC’s Dr. Lisa Richardson and cancer survivor April Donaldson in their new blog post.

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Cheer for Cancer Prevention!

CDC Super Bowl Ad: Screen for the Home Team

CDC has a new cancer prevention ad appearing in the Super Bowl LVI program book. The ad will also appear in the digital versions of the Official Super Bowl Souvenir Magazine. The ad encourages screening and helps extend the reach of CDC’s cancer prevention message in a way that is hard to find in other publications. Screening can prevent cancer, find it early, and save lives. CDC’s new ad serves as a reminder for you to screen for your home team – family and loved ones!

Upcoming Events

The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors will host two webinars this month in collaboration with CDC. Questions about these webinars may be sent to info@chronicdisease.org.

Environmental Health and Impact on Cancer: Evidence-Informed Interventions will discuss intervention opportunities related to chemical carcinogens in communities and specific programs that have been successfully used to advance cancer prevention. This is the second in a series of webinars on environmental chemicals and cancer prevention in partnership with the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and the Breast Cancer Prevention Partners. Date and time: February 15, 2022, 2 pm ET. Registration is available on the NACDD website.
Social Determinants of Health: Cancer Risk Among American Indian and Alaska Native Populations is the first in a series of webinars on this topic. The webinar will include an overview of an evidence map designed to synthesize research on social determinants of health and cancer risk. A panel of experts will explore gaps and priorities in future equity-focused research areas related to cancer prevention. The panel will also identify potential approaches to strengthen cancer prevention efforts among AI/AN people. Date and time: February 22, 2022, 2 pm ET. Registration is available on the NACDD website.

Research Spotlight

Trends in breast cancer incidence, by race, ethnicity, and age, among women age ≥20 years ─ United States, 1999─2018 shows the rate of new cases of breast cancer among women decreased from 1999 to 2004 but increased from 2004 to 2018. These changes in breast cancer rates differed by age and racial and ethnic groups. During 1999 to 2018, breast cancers decreased among women 50-64 and 75 years or older but increased among women aged 20-39 years. These findings suggest women aged 20–49 years may benefit from discussions with their health care providers about potential breast cancer risk and ways to reduce risk.

Did You Know?

Cancer death rates dropped 27% every year from 1999 to 2019.
The places where people live, learn, work, and play (social determinants of health) can affect their chances of getting and dying from cancer.