There are many kinds of cancer, most caused by a combination of factors over time. These can include—

• Genetic factors you get from your parents, such as certain genes related to breast cancer.
• Environmental factors, such as sunlight, radon, or pollution.
• Personal habits, such as smoking or drinking alcohol.
• Workplace factors, such as exposure to certain chemicals.
• The food you eat and medicines you take.

You can’t change some risk factors, such as your genes. But you can completely or partially avoid other risk factors—for example, by not smoking or quitting smoking, by not drinking or limiting the amount of alcohol you drink, and by protecting your skin from the sun. Daily habits like these can make a difference over time in your overall health and your risk of developing cancer.

Some behaviors linked to cancer risk typically start during youth, making interventions focused on young people particularly important. For example, most smokers start during their preteen or teen years, so using antismoking interventions for youth can help keep kids from smoking and prevent many future cancers. However, it’s never too late to reap the benefits of healthy changes. Efforts to adopt healthy habits, avoid harmful exposures, and manage chronic conditions like diabetes and obesity can reduce a person’s cancer risk even when started at older ages.

A Lifetime Approach to Preventing Cancer

CDC scientists and other experts created the Cancer Prevention Across the Lifespan workgroup to explore ways to reduce cancer risk at different ages. This workgroup studies scientific literature and works with other experts to find opportunities at every age to reduce cancer risk.

You can lower your children’s risk of getting cancer later in life by getting them vaccinated against HPV and helping them make healthy choices.

Stay Safe in the Sun

Just a few serious sunburns can increase your child’s risk of skin cancer later in life. To protect their skin from the sun, they can—

• Stay in the shade.
• Wear a hat, sunglasses, and clothing that covers their arms and legs.
• Put on broad spectrum sunscreen that has an SPF of 15 or higher.

Robin, a skin cancer survivor, says, “I fell in love with the sun-assisted caramel color that my Afro Puerto Rican roots blessed me with every summer. As I got older, I took extra efforts to ensure I had sun exposure.

“In 1998, I became a parent. I practiced good sun-protective behaviors with my children, and in turn myself, but I would often get distracted. I love sun and I love a great tan.

“In 2012, I noticed a misshapen mole on my right arm,” Robin says. It was melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer.

“Today, I have a three-inch scar that reminds me of what I’ve been through. I still love the sun, but my skin-protection behaviors are very different.”

Get Your Kids Vaccinated Against HPV

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common virus that is passed from one person to another during sex. It can cause cervical and other kinds of cancer. Some cancers of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus, and oropharynx (back of the throat, including the base of the tongue and tonsils) are caused by HPV.

The HPV vaccine protects against the types of HPV that most commonly cause cancer. All preteens should get vaccinated when they are 11 or 12 years old. Teenagers and young adults through 26 years, who haven’t started or finished the HPV vaccine series, should get vaccinated as soon as possible. HPV vaccination can be given starting at age 9 years.

Help Your Kids Stay Active and Keep a Healthy Weight

Children who have obesity are more likely to become adults with obesity. Adult obesity increases risk of serious health problems, including cancer. You can help children develop healthy eating habits and stay physically active, so they keep a healthy weight.

The amount of physical activity children need depends on how old they are. Children who are 3 to 5 years old should be active throughout the day. Older children and teens should be active for at least an hour a day.

Talk to Your Kids About Smoking

Nearly 9 out of 10 people who smoke cigarettes first try them by age 18. Each day in the U.S., about 1,600 youth smoke their first cigarette. In 2020, about one-fourth of high school students said they use tobacco. Talk to your children about why you don’t want them to smoke.

Smoke from other people’s cigarettes (secondhand smoke) can cause serious health problems in children and adults, including lung cancer in adults who never smoked. Don’t expose your children to secondhand smoke.

Cancer is caused by a combination of factors over time. One of the papers provides highlights from meetings with nationally recognized experts about possible opportunities for cancer prevention early in life. Research suggests that we can take steps today to protect the health of babies and young children, and reduce their chances of getting cancer in the future.

Encouraging Behaviors That May Lower Cancer Risk

• Getting enough folic acid during pregnancy.
• Breastfeeding.
• Getting enough physical activity during childhood.
• Ensuring safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for all children and families.

Reducing Harmful Exposures

• Avoiding alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy.
• Keeping children away from secondhand smoke.
• Reducing exposure to traffic-related air pollution.
• Avoiding exposure to chemicals that can cause cancer.
• Limiting the amount of radiation used during certain medical tests, like CT (computed tomography) scans.
• Learning about your family’s history of exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES).
• Preventing adverse childhood experiences.

Youth go through many physical and social changes as they grow into adults. These changes create unique opportunities for cancer prevention. By addressing certain exposures and behaviors among today’s youth, we can reduce their chances of getting cancer in the future. Examples include—

Promoting protective behaviors.

• Completing the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine series.
• Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.
• Getting enough physical activity.
• Ensuring safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for all children and families.

By addressing certain exposures and behaviors among today’s youth, we can reduce their chances of getting cancer in the future.

Reducing harmful exposures.

• Avoiding intentional tanning.
• Quitting smoking and other tobacco use.
• Preventing underage drinking.
• Avoiding exposure to certain chemicals.
• Limiting radiation dose during medical imaging procedures.
• Preventing adverse childhood experiences.

Early adulthood is a time of many life changes, such as leaving home, getting a full-time job, and becoming a parent, each with challenges and stresses. It is also a unique opportunity to set a course for a long, healthy life. Research shows that people can do several things to lower their long-term cancer risk during this time of life, including—

Promoting healthy behaviors.

• Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.
• Getting regular physical activity.
• Keeping a healthy weight.
• Using sun protection when outdoors.
• Breastfeeding.

Reducing use of harmful products.

• Avoiding tobacco products and secondhand smoke.
• Avoiding intentional tanning.
• Limiting consumption of alcohol and sugar-sweetened drinks.

Public health professionals can use evidence-based strategies (proven ways) to address many of these risks at the community level. These papers also describe ways to counter the marketing of harmful products and social norms that promote unhealthy behaviors, the role of health care providers, and ideas for how other people in the community can help.

Midlife, the time roughly between 45 and 64 years of age, is when the effects of harmful exposures and health behaviors often start to appear. At this age, adults may experience the onset of chronic diseases or other health problems. During this time of unique life transitions and health challenges, adults can make positive changes to reduce their cancer risk and support health during midlife and beyond. Examples include—

Promoting behaviors that are generally healthy may lower individual cancer risk.

• Getting enough physical activity.
• Maintaining a healthy weight.
• Getting enough sleep.

Seeking appropriate medical care.

• Managing chronic diseases such as diabetes.
• Testing for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.
• Getting help to quit smoking.
• Screening for and managing obesity.
• Screening for certain types of cancer.

Reducing harmful exposures.

• Avoiding excessive UV exposure.
• Limiting alcohol use.
• Quitting smoking and other tobacco use.
• Avoiding exposure to certain chemicals.
• Limiting radiation dose during medical imaging procedures.

More than two-thirds of all new cancers are diagnosed among adults aged 60 years and older. As the number of adults living to older ages continues to increase, so too will the number of new cancer cases. In 2018, more than 1.7 million people were diagnosed with cancer. Without more efforts to prevent cancer, that number is expected to reach more than 2.2 million by 2050, with the largest percentage increase among adults who are 75 years old or older.

Cancer is usually caused by many factors over time. This means that even later in life, there will be opportunities to prevent or delay the onset of new cancers. Research suggests that we can do more as a society to reduce cancer risk and preserve health as adults enter their 60s, 70s, and beyond.