Why This Matters
The Problem
We’re Solving
Cancer touches nearly every family in America — yet almost nothing in our school curriculum prepares young people to understand it. That gap has consequences.
Cancer is already
in students’ lives
Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime
leading cause of death in the United States
of children know a close family member with cancer before age 12
of K–8 curriculum includes any teaching about cancer
When it is taught,
it’s through boring textbooks
The rare classroom that covers cancer at all typically does so through dense reading passages and vocabulary lists — passive learning that doesn’t stick and doesn’t engage.
Students who lose a family member to cancer often carry that experience into school with no framework for understanding what happened, and no space to process it through learning.
Meanwhile, cancer biology has never been more accessible or more relevant. The scientific community understands it in extraordinary detail. Students deserve that knowledge — in a form they can actually engage with.
Students are already affected
More than half of K–12 students personally know someone with cancer. They're not too young for this topic — they're already living it.
Curiosity is the missing ingredient
When students understand what cancer actually is — at a cellular level — fear turns into curiosity. Curiosity turns into engagement. Engagement turns into advocates.
Tumor Tactics bridges the gap
By turning oncology into strategic gameplay, we give students a way to learn that's active, social, and genuinely fun — without sacrificing scientific accuracy.
Ready to be part of the solution?
Bring Tumor Tactics to your classroom, donate to expand our reach, or partner with us to close the cancer education gap — one game at a time.