The Steve Fonyo Cancer Prevention Program (SFCPP) was a demonstration project of community-based education strategies designed to increase behaviours which will result in reduced cancer deaths, and to assess the feasibility of the involvement of a provincial cancer agency in the delivery of community-based prevention programs. Using primarily two different strategies, the SFCPP attempted to influence people to choose healthy lifestyles which would reduce their risk of getting cancer and to practice those behaviours which would increase early detection. The health unit intervention component consisted of risk assessment, personalized feedback and an invitation to appropriate health education programs delivered by a nurse. The community-based component involved community members in the planning and delivery of cancer prevention programs. The program began in four small cities (combined population 165,000) in early 1987. A baseline survey was done prior to implementation to facilitate evaluation. The purpose of this article is to describe the planning and implementation of the Steve Fonyo Cancer Prevention Program.