Background: Cancer is considered a major cause of death worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The disease is expected to increase worldwide for various reasons, including the lack of awareness about cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Targeting school students through an educational program could be one of the most effective methods of prevention or early detection. Currently, the school curriculum does not include sufficient information for students on cancer risk factors nor on how to seek early medical intervention. This necessitates introducing educational and awareness-raising programs focusing on preventing and dealing with the disease. Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of an interventional education cancer program (general cancer and breast cancer) to enhance the knowledge and awareness of cancer risk factors, symptoms and reduce the barriers to seeking early medical help among Omani school students (grades 10–11) In addition, to explore the perceptions of students, teachers and educational policymakers at the Ministry of Education regarding the importance and challenges of including cancer awareness education in the school curriculum. Methods: The study employed a mixed-methods research design and was carried out at three distinct research stages. The first two stages contained two phases; the first phase was a quantitative randomized control trial (RCT), with control and intervention groups via cancer awareness measures questionnaires (general and breast) targeted school students (1716 for general cancer, both gender and 1106 for breast cancer, female). The assessments were conducted twice; at baseline T0 and four weeks after; T1. Then the qualitative phase with volunteers’ students from the intervention group through focus groups discussion was conducted to explore their perception toward the received program. The third stage was qualitative, through semi-structured interviews with ten educational policymakers and ten teachers to explore their perception toward inclusion of cancer education programs within the curriculum. Results: The results showed a significant improvement four weeks after the intervention (p 0.001) in students' awareness and knowledge about cancer risk factors and symptoms. Significant improvement was also observed in the reduction in the time the intervention group students required to seek medical help compared to those in the control group. Also, a decrease in the number of students who indicated barriers to seeking medical help was observed, with emotional barriers like embarrassment and unconfident in talking about the symptoms being the most prominent (p 0.001). However, there was a slight decrease in other barriers, such as scare (p = 0.263) and worry about the finding (p = 0.408). Students also mentioned other practical and service-related barriers, like unavailability of transportation and appointment delays. The study also demonstrated an improvement in the female student's knowledge about breast cancer-related examinations, including the availability of free services in the Sultanate of Oman and the non-painful nature of the examination (p 0.001). Furthermore, there was an association between the responses of the intervention group students before the program and some socio-demographic factors, such as gender and the presence of a family member with cancer (p 0.001). However, the impact of these factors diminished significantly after the program as a result of the educational program that all students in this group received. Furthermore, the results showed that parents and healthcare providers are crucial in seeking early medical help and addressing students' emotional, social, and educational barriers. Also, the study revealed that policymakers and teachers had a positive attitude towards the inclusion of the program and had a good recognition of the importance of cancer education in schools. They also emphasized the need to prioritize such programs due to the ever-increasing cancer cases in Oman. The results also showed that implementing cancer education programs in schools is crucial for enhancing students' knowledge of cancer, promoting healthy behavior, and emphasizing the importance of integration and collaboration among different departments. It was also noted that integrating cancer education into various school activities is urgently necessary to reduce the prevalence of cancer in Oman. This stage also explored the potential challenges of establishing school cancer education programs. These challenges include prioritizing cancer education over other topics, taking the necessary steps to have cancer education in the curriculum, and addressing the financial and logistical requirements for implementing cancer education programs. Conclusion: The study confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed cancer education program and called upon incorporating the program into the school curriculum. The study suggested solutions to address these challenges, such as educational policymakers and teachers drawing up realistic and practical strategies to integrate cancer education into the curriculum and providing appropriate training and support for teachers to ensure a successful implementation of the programs.