When children are diagnosed with cancer, parents often ask their doctors, “How did this happen? Did the environment have something to do with it?” The WS PEHSU has been at the forefront in helping pediatric health care providers, parents, and caregiver answer this and similar questions. Projects spearheaded by the WS PEHSU to answer questions about environmental influences on childhood cancers, such as leukemia, include the Childhood Cancer and the Environment, Childhood Leukemia and the Environment, and Improving Health Literacy of Young Adults project. Scroll down to learn more about each of these projects.

Childhood Cancer & the Environment has been developed to help pediatric health care providers answer questions from parents and caregivers about environmental influences on childhood cancers, including leukemia. The Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit Network (PEHSU) and the Western States PEHSU (WSPEHSU) head up the project.

Click here to learn about the Childhood Cancer & the Environment program.

The Childhood Leukemia & the Environment is an ongoing collaboration between WS PEHSU and the Center for Integrative Research on Childhood Leukemia and the Environment (CIRCLE) Community Outreach and Translation Core, working to educate clinicians and the public about environmental toxicants that increase the risk of childhood leukemia and other childhood diseases

Click here to learn about the Childhood Leukemia & the Environment project.

The Improving Environmental Health Literacy of Young Adults project raises awareness for the role of pre-conception and prenatal environmental influences on the development of childhood leukemia and other diseases including developmental disabilities, asthma, and reproductive health.

Click here to learn about the Improving Environmental Health Literacy of Young Adults project.