The Childhood Cancer & the Environment Program (CCEP) is a national program of the PEHSU Network to educate pediatric health care providers, parents, and caregivers about environmental influences on childhood cancers such as leukemia. The program educates clinicians and families on practical ways to prevent childhood cancer and improve treatment outcomes and survivorship.
CCEP is designed to help pediatric health care providers answer questions from parents and caregivers about environmental influences on childhood cancers, including leukemia.
Example resources for clinicians:
We collaborate with community health workers to educate parents and caregivers about environmental influences on childhood cancers.
Example resources for community health workers:
When children are diagnosed with cancer, parents often ask their doctors, “How did this happen? Did the environment have something to do with it?” CCEP helps families and communities be better informed about how to reduce environmental risks for childhood cancer.
Example resources for families and communities:
Nearly 90% of pediatric cancer specialists don’t know about the links between exposure to environmental hazards and the risk of childhood cancer.
Research in the last 25 years has greatly expanded our understanding of risk factors for childhood cancer. This program grew out of Dr. Mark Miller’s environmental health literacy work at UC Berkeley’s Center for Integrative Research on Childhood Leukemia in the Environment in 2022. Funding support via Trevor’s Law, brought about by the advocacy of brain cancer survivor Trevor Schaefer, made the program possible.
A major goal has been to improve pediatric care providers’ knowledge about environmental risks for childhood cancers including exposure to pesticides, traffic related air pollution, tobacco, and solvents. We also want to inform providers as well as their patients and the greater community about protective factors, including breast feeding, adequate folate early in pregnancy, and attending daycare.
Community outreach has been a focal point, with program Champions conducting trainings for promotores de salud and other community health workers. We created a wide range of educational materials in English and Spanish to support the workshops and trainings. This program fills a gap in education for health professionals and communities about the effects of the environment on childhood cancers.
CCEP publishes newsletters to further educate and activate health professionals and advocates like you to address environmental influences on childhood cancer. We also have a bilingual newsletter for community health workers (CHWs).
CCEP highlights recent events, and experts we collaborate with, in our blog on pehsu.net. View the latest two blogs below.
