Northeastern NC, October 17, 2012 – Area residents have an unprecedented opportunity to participate in an historic study that may change the face of cancer. Men and women between the ages of 30 and 65 who have never been diagnosed with cancer are needed to participate in the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Prevention Study-3 (CPS-3). CPS-3 will help researchers better understand the lifestyle, environmental and genetic factors that cause or prevent cancer.
Local residents can enroll at cps3northeastnc.org for one of the following dates and locations.
- Tuesday, December 4, 4–7:30 pm, Vidant Chowan Hospital, 211 Virginia Road, Edenton;
- Thursday, December 6, 4–7:30 pm, Vidant Bertie Hospital, 1403 South King Street, Windsor;
- Saturday, December 8, 9 am – 12:30 pm, Metal Tech, 314 West Broad Street, Murfreesboro;
- Tuesday, December 11, 12:30–4 pm, Perdue, 3539 Governors Road, Lewiston
- Thursday, December 13, 10 am – 1:30 pm, Edgecombe County Administrative Building Auditorium, 201 St. Andrew Street, Tarboro.
To enroll in the study, individuals will be asked to read and sign an informed consent form; complete a comprehensive survey packet that asks for information on lifestyle, behavior and other factors related to health; have waist circumference measured; and give a small blood sample. Most participants spend 45 minutes completing the survey and 30 minutes at the appointment. Upon completion of this process, the Society will send periodic follow-up surveys for participants to update their information as well as annual newsletters with study updates and results.
“Many individuals diagnosed with cancer struggle to answer the question, ‘What caused my cancer?’ In many cases, we don’t know the answer,” said Alpa V. Patel, Ph.D., principal investigator of CPS-3. “CPS-3 will help us better understand what factors cause cancer, and once we know that, we can be better equipped to prevent cancer.” Dr. Patel added, “Our previous cancer prevention studies have been instrumental in helping us identify some of the major factors that can affect cancer risk. CPS-3 holds the best hope of identifying new and emerging cancer risks, and we can only do this if members of the community are willing to become involved.”
Previous Cancer Prevention Studies (CPS-I, and CPS-II) confirmed the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer, demonstrated the link between larger waist size and increased death rates from cancer and other causes, and showed the considerable impact of air pollution on heart and lung conditions.
For more information or to learn how to become involved with CPS-3, visit www.cps3NortheastNC.org, email cps3@cancer.org, or call toll-free 1-888-604-5888.
About the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing about $3.4 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us any time, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.
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