Cancer curricula for secondary schools: making the right choice

The American Cancer Society has produced and distributed for use in secondary schools a curriculum package entitled Right Choices. This article considers the development, testing, and marketing of the new cancer education program. Of particular interest is the selection of the theoretical perspective, evaluation methodology, and marketing strategy employed in its production, given the direction in which the field of health education is moving and the political context in which the curriculum has emerged. The author concludes that in selecting cancer prevention curricula for the schools, making the right choice may not be as simple as adopting what is available from the American Cancer Society. The case of Right Choices also serves to illuminate concerns about the American Cancer Society raised by others and bolsters the call for an examination of the organization's role in an effort to control cancer.