Priority 1: Primary Prevention

Primary prevention means taking steps to prevent cancer from occurring in the first place. While not all cancers can be prevented, there are ways to reduce cancer risk. Many factors can increase your risk of getting cancer, such as your age, family history and genetics, other medical conditions, health behaviors (e.g., tobacco use, poor diet), and environmental hazards. Some of these factors are within our control, while others are not (e.g., age and family history). Importantly, many of the health behaviors that are most effective in preventing cancer cannot be achieved by the individual alone; conditions must be in place to make healthy lifestyle choices.

The Cancer Plan outlines objectives and strategies to address cancer risk factors through policy, system, and environmental (PSE) approaches. Examples of PSE strategies for primary prevention include implementing tobacco-free workplace policies, supporting workplace leave policies that allow people to take time from work to get screened, and expanding nutritional assistance programs.  Specifically, the Cancer Plan focuses on areas such as increasing access to healthy foods, mitigating the effects of radon, increasing transportation access, and increasing HPV and HBV vaccinations.

Primary Prevention Goal: Prevent cancer from occurring by strengthening community conditions that promote health equity and significantly reducing cancer risk factors for all people in Massachusetts.

Objective 1: Increase the percentage of families who can afford the basic necessities of housing, food, childcare, healthcare, and transportation by December 31, 2029.

Objective 2: Decrease substance use in youth and adults by 5% by 2029.

Objective 3: Increase the percentage of youth and adults who have access to healthy foods and safe spaces to be physically active by 2029.

Objective 4: Increase the percent of people who are fully vaccinated for HPV and HBV according to guidelines by 2029.

Objective 5: Increase the number of people who have and utilize primary care by 2029.

Objective 6: Reduce exposures to environmental risk factors for cancer, particularly among populations unduly burdened by toxins and environmental contamination by 2029.

Objective 7: Increase rates of cure of hepatitis C infection.