It’s true that cancer in children is not common. However, it is still the leading cause of disease deaths for children in America. The rates of survival for most childhood cancers have improved in the last few decades, yet survival rates have stayed low for certain types of cancer and some age groups.
The American Children’s Cancer Foundation (ACCF) empowers children and their families who have been affected by cancer. They offer programs, education and support for those involved with this disease. Making a cancer car donation to the ACCF is one way to help a child suffering from cancer and promote research for cancer prevention.
Sometimes cancer can just happen no matter what is done. Yet we can still do our part as parents and adults to try and prevent cancer, especially in our children. Below are some targeted ideas to implement.
What You Can Do to Help Prevent Your Child From Getting Cancer:
- Do not smoke or allow your children to be in a smoking environment.
- Help your children adopt a healthy lifestyle by practicing healthy eating and exercising habits with them. Help them learn to stay away from junk food and make healthy choices when snacking.
- Follow sun safety tips by protecting skin whenever they are outdoors. Wear sunscreen, take breaks and keep covered when spending an extended amount of time in the sun.
- Warn your children about the dangers of indoor and outdoor tanning.
- Vaccinate your child against HPV (human papillomavirus) which can cause cervical cancer as well as vulvar, vaginal, anal, penile and oropharyngeal cancers.
- Avoid exposure in your home to environmental toxins like household chemical, pesticides and solvents, especially for pregnant women, infants and younger children. Instead, opt to use organic cleaners and to purchase organic fruits and vegetables. Better yet, grow your own food.
- Avoid the overuse of antibiotics on your children, particularly for things like the common cold, flu or illness. Antibiotics can destroy beneficial bacteria in the gut and make a child vulnerable to developing a tolerance to antibiotics. A body needs a strong immune system to fight cancer.
- Avoid dangerous and unnecessary prescriptions for your kids. An alarming number of prescription medications mention cancer on their warning labels. Consider looking for other more natural methods of treatment rather than an unnecessary prescription drug that can put you or your child at risk.
We cannot prevent all types of cancer, even if we do everything right. The best we can do is to aim to live a healthy, non-toxic lifestyle so that we can prevent it as much as possible.
Helping a child who has cancer is simple when you donate a car to the American Cancer Foundation for kids. The ACCF adapts the support given to fit the needs of each child; from treatment assistance and education to family support and recovery.