We are failing our children and young people when it comes to preparing them to make informed health decisions.

Surveys conducted in 2012 in the UK and Sweden show that alarming numbers of young people in both countries believe that cancer is contagious, and show a dangerous lack of awareness about how cancer is caused and can be prevented.

Some British children think that cancer can be caused by being badly behaved.

These studies show a deeply concerning lack of awareness about how cancer develops.

The belief that cancer is contagious and can be ‘caught’ through physical contact isolates and stigmatises cancer patients, while ignorance of preventative measures may have a dramatic impact on participation in prevention and screening programmes.

Almost half of Swedish teenagers questioned think cancer is contagious.

Both surveys showed a high level of awareness about the link between smoking and lung cancer, but little to none about other risk factors.

According to these surveys, 97% of British children are not aware than sunburn causes skin cancer, and 46% of Swedish teenagers think leukaemia can be transmitted through open wounds. Some British children believe that being badly behaved can cause cancer, and many do not know what cancer is or believe that it is always fatal. 70% of Swedish teenagers do not know about the HPV vaccine, a key prevention measure against cervical cancer.

Sarunas Narbutas, teenage cancer survivor and ECPC Board Member, says “there any many inaccurate myths about cancer today. Cancer has no age, gender or social preferences - anyone can develop cancer but this is not as bad as it sounds because the second most persistent myth - that cancer is lethal – has been false for years. Today millions of cancer survivors are living with and beyond their disease.”

It is essential that we arm young people today with more knowledge about what cancer is, what causes it and how they can reduce their risk. By allowing these misconceptions to remain intact, we are preventing our youngest citizens from making informed lifestyle choices and increasing the taboo which still surrounds cancer.

“Our first and most important tool in the battle against cancer is knowledge,” said Tom Hudson, President of ECPC. “We have a responsibility to young people to equip them for the future. How can we expect them to make good choices if we don’t give them good information?”

The European Cancer Patient Coalition is a non-profit umbrella organisation which represents more than 300 cancer patient groups in more than 40 countries. By speaking together with one voice, they work to ensure that no decision affecting cancer patients is taken without consulting the patient community. Our motto is “Nothing about us without us!”

Source: ECPC