Cancer: Young People Are Confused And Want To Know More

Two thirds of children [1] know somebody affected by cancer, and nearly half have had a family member with the disease, yet they still lack understanding about cancer, its causes and their own relative risk. This is according to research published today by MORI for Macmillan Cancer Relief, to launch the charity's schools awareness programme Cancer Talk.

Accurate understanding of some facts are confused in children's minds by myths and unproven speculation which lead to unnecessary fear. For example, 88% correctly identify smoking as a key cause. However, many children [2] think that mobile phones also cause cancer (not proven), and 14% of 10-11 year olds believe you can catch cancer from other people.

Children also have mixed knowledge of the cancers which might affect their age groups. 19% rightly identify leukaemia as the type of cancer that young people are most at risk of developing. Yet nearly the same proportions mention lung and skin cancers, even though these mainly affect older age groups.

Alarmingly, only 9% of the boys interviewed mention testicular cancer, which can affect males from 15 years of age, and is the most common form of cancer for young men. This form of cancer can easily be detected by self examination and has a 90% cure rate if caught early.

One of the most significant findings from the report is that three quarters of children say that they would like to know more about cancer.

Other key findings include:

• One fifth of young people see inheriting cancer from one or both parents as one of the ways people are most likely to develop the disease despite the low risk (5-10% [3]) of this happening.
• Only 10% are aware that young people are at risk of developing brain tumours, the second most prevalent form of cancer in this age group [4].
• 82% of children state that more should be taught about cancer prevention in schools.
• Young people in the focus groups indicated that they would not feel confident enough about how to check themselves for any early signs of cancer, and rely on doctors to do it for them.
• Girls in the focus groups were more likely than boys to seek out information about cancer and follow up their questions -- a trend which is known to continue into adulthood.
• Children in the focus groups mentioned that people with cancer can lose their social status, e.g. hair loss of cancer patients can lead to bullying in school.

1. aged 10-17
2. in the focus groups conducted
3. pre-disposition to cancer -- source: Cancer Research UK
4. Childhood Cancers: 1 in 600 under 15s is diagnosed with cancer in the UK each year. There is a 70% cure rate. Leukaemia accounts for 430 cases each year and brain tumours 300, which together account for over half of all cases. [Source: UK Childhood Cancer's Study Group / CancerBACUP]

Technical details

MORI's Social Research Institute interviewed a representative sample of 437 young people aged 10-17 across Great Britain. Questions were asked as part of the MORI Omnibus, face-to-face in-home using CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing). Fieldwork took place between 13-18 December 2001, 10-14 January 2002 and 7-13 February 2002. All data have been weighted to the profile of the population. MORI also conducted six focus groups with young people aged 11-16. Two took place in each of London, Edinburgh and Swansea.