Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Sister study seeks cure for breast cancer

A survey is currently underway to find the cause and cure for breast cancer in women.

Delores Caudle, recruitment consultant with the Sister Study, spoke to those gathered at the Nevada County Cancer Associations annual community coffee. The coffee, sponsored by the Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce and held at the community room of the Collum and Carney Clinic, is one of the more popular ones every year.

Caudle said the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are doing a sister study to find the cause of breast cancer and, hopefully a cure.

The study is looking at sisters, where one has had, still has or has died from breast cancer, where the other didnt. The NIS and NIH are looking for women 35-74 years old, who are U.S. citizens and blood relatives.

The goal, Caudle said, is to enroll 50,000 women in the study. There are currently 23,000 enrolled, but the majority of these are white women. She told the gathering more minority women need to be involved. The women in the study need to be from all walks of life.

The Sister Study, as its called, will look at different possible factors, including early experiences sisters may have shared, their environment, and genetics. The study will examine how things in the home, workplace and community may affect chances of women getting breast cancer.

This is a long-term study, but its easy. During the first year of the study women will be asked about their lives and family history. They will also be questioned about their health, diet and jobs, along with their environment. This will be done through telephone interviews and questionnaires.

A trained female examiner will come to the homes of those participating in the study, or another place of the persons choosing to take body measurements, a toenail clipping, blood and urine samples, along with some house dust.

From there, the study will contact participants annually, updating addresses and health information.

Information gathered from the Sister Study falls under the Federal Privacy Act and personal data will not be shared with others.

We need women of all backgrounds, Caudle said.

This program started in 2003. Partner organizations include the American Cancer Society, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization.