Education
Cancer is no respecter of age and therefore it is important that youngsters know something of the facts about cancer, even if only to help to dispel some of the myths surrounding it.
Young get to grips with cancer
Young people have considerable awareness of the issues surrounding cancer and its treatment, a survey of York school children reveals.
Many had been ‘touched’ by cancer and almost everyone saw the importance of cancer education.
We commissioned research - leading to production of a groundbreaking education pack - Cancer - Dispelling the Myths - which has been issued to secondary schools in York and the surrounding area.
The pack has been designed to be taught as part of a school’s PSHE (Personal, social and health education) programme
The five-lesson programme begins with a brainstorm session to determine what the pupils know about cancer – including where their information comes from – such as personal experience, the media of TV dramas.
This is followed by a card game – a series of true or false questions designed to test the knowledge of pupils and reveal their assumptions about cancer.
Subsequent lessons deal with a more detailed look at Cancer – its causes, how to reduce the risks, diet and exercise and life balance.
“We know from our research that many children have misconceptions about cancer,” said Keith Hayton, former headteacher now Honorary Administrator with the charity and instigator of the cancer education programme.
“Our programme is designed to set the record straight – and to give them some lifestyle advice on how to avoid cancers.”
The programme pulls no punches in terms of the information it delivers to its target audience. For example, the presentation reveals that cancer will affect one in three people – and for one in four the disease will prove fatal. Despite producing cancer cells every single day, two thirds of us will never contract cancer; of those that do, 75 per cent will beat it
The full programme, in five separate lessons (pdf documents), is available to schools via these links:
Related Downloads:
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Lesson 1: Cancer - An Overview (pdf, 112kb)
Learning Objectives: How to keep healthy and what influences health, including the media. Learning Outcomes: To have increased understanding of cancer.
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Lesson 2: Reducing the Risks (pdf, 72.93kb)
Learning Objectives: How to keep healthy and what influences health. Learning Outcomes: That food is used as a fuel during respiration to maintain the body's activity and as a raw material for growth and repair.
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Lesson 3: Diet and exercise - Food for life (pdf, 59.53kb)
Learning Objectives: How to keep healthy and what influences health. Learning Outcomes: Know what foods to eat to help them prevent cancer, Understand how foods help prevent cancer, Know the importance of exercise in preventing cancer
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Lesson 4: Cancer and Lifestyle – Causes and Treatment (pdf, 58.39kb)
Learning Objectives: How to keep healthy and what influences health. Learning Outcomes: Know and understand how lifestyle can affect health, Know how to reduce the risks
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Lesson 5: Life Balance ( Sex, Drugs and Rock n’ Roll ! ) (pdf, 51.52kb)
Learning Objectives: How to keep healthy and what influences health. Learning Outcomes: Understand the importance of a balanced life, Know the importance of protected sex in terms of cancer, Know which viruses and bacteria are linked to cancer and how to avoid them, Know which drugs are linked to cancers