A key challenge facing cancer educators is the extent to which effective programmes can be widely disseminated and implemented. Differences between target populations with respect to social, psychological, and educational characteristics, as well as the social and economic context make it difficult to replicate "cookbook" approaches. Tailoring of communications has mitigated this problem to some degree, but the heterogeneity of target populations is still an impediment. In this paper the authors, therefore, propose guidelines that may be useful in implementing cancer education for a variety of populations and settings.