Cancer can happen to people of all ages, children and young adults included. The week of April 7-13 is meant to spread awareness about different types of cancers in young adults. National Young Adult Cancer Awareness Week was launched in 2003 by Vital Options International and takes place annually on the first Monday in April and lasts for one full week. This year, consider donating a car to charity to benefit young adults with critical illnesses. Your donation benefits Make-A-Wish and could grant a wish for a child up to the age of 18.

To raise cancer awareness and prevent cancer in children and adults, April is Cancer Control Month. While most cancers can be effectively diagnosed through early screening, many cancers do not show signs or symptoms until they enter the later stages, so it can be tough to know when to get screened. Thankfully, the month of April is a great time to spread cancer awareness and get screened, even if you don’t already have signs or symptoms. For children, however, it is important that they eat healthy and stay active to prevent future disease.

While colorectal cancer in children is usually rare and occurs in about one in 1 million children, it is often part of an inherited syndrome that causes the disease. Inherited conditions such as Lynch syndrome, Cowden syndrome, Turcot syndrome, Familial adenomatous polyposis, Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Juvenile polyposis syndrome, Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, Attenuated familial adenomatous polyposis, or MYH-associate polyposis increases the risk of a child developing colon cancer during childhood.

Colorectal cancer is the third most frequent cancer in adult men and the second most common cancer in adult women, but there are generally less than 100 cases of colorectal cancer in children who are under the age of 20. However, colorectal cancer in children is possible, and the entire month of March is meant to spread awareness about colorectal cancer so that people of all ages can be aware of the signs and symptoms of the disease.