How to participate
? Register online at cps3aberdeen.org.
? Complete survey.
? Enroll in study Sept. 10-12. Study involves blood draw and waist measurement at Avera St. Luke's Hospital and Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center.
? Subjects must be ages 30 to 65 and cancer free.
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?The American Cancer Society has selected Aberdeen to participate in a national study aimed at identifying the causes and prevention of cancer.
?Four hundred subjects from the Aberdeen area are needed to participate in this historic study, state leadership director Erik Gaikowski said Thursday.
?Avera St. Luke's Hospital and Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center will serve as enrollment sites.
?The Cancer Prevention Study-3 is the third major long-term study conducted by the society since the 1950s. It is a massive research effort which will survey the lives of at least 300,000 people nationwide.
?This kind of study is very important in helping identify factors that cause cancer, said Dr. Richard Conklin, oncologist with Avera St. Luke's. The study that started in the 1950s was instrumental in identifying cigarette smoking as a major cause of lung cancer and other studies have identified obesity, air pollution and other factors which put people at risk for the disease, he said.
?"Cancer is the common enemy and centers across the country are unified against it," Conklin said.
?The study requires that subjects fill out questionnaires every two years for 20 to 30 years. Subjects must by 30 to 65 years old and cancer free.
?Kim Schneider, an American Cancer Society Reach To Recovery volunteer from Mansfield, said that the research can help people like her who carry the gene which increases a woman's risk for breast and ovarian cancer. She became aware of her predisposition to cancer after she had genetic testing following the discovery of breast cancer in her 35-year-old sister. Her sister has been a cancer survivor for 13 years.
?"I thank God for that everyday, but I don't want to see any other people go through what she and her family went through," she said.
?It was cancer research that led to identifying genetic factors. She said has taken steps to reduce her cancer risk since finding out she has the genetic disposition for cancer.
?"I believe the research has helped save my life up until this point, so if you can be a part of this study, you have no idea how many lives will be saved," she said.
?Gaikowski said that it is important for rural America to be represented in this study.
?One of the weaknesses of the CPS-1 and CPS-2 studies was that the participants were not as diverse a group as they should have been, Conklin said. The new study hopes to have greater racial and demographic diversity.
?Possible risk factors in rural areas, such as exposure to agricultural chemical and pesticides, can only be addressed if there are rural subjects involved in the study, he said.
?Jen Wagenaar, chief nursing officer at Sanford, said she is going to participate in the study.
?Cancer is the No. 1 cause of death in South Dakota, killing about 1,600 residents each year, according to the American Cancer Society.
?"As a nurse, I have seen the devastation that cancer can cause," Wagenaar said. "But for me, this is also personal. I have been planning end-of-life treatment for a 22-year-old family member dying of brain cancer."
?Being a subject in cancer research is one way she can help participate in the fight against cancer, she said.
?The Cancer Prevention Study-3 has been going on for a few years. Sioux Falls had about 1,000 participants last summer, said Cancer Society officials.
?The survey and short visit to have blood drawn and a waist measurement do not take much time, but participation in the study does require a long-term commitment, Gaikowski said. The benefits to the fight against cancer, however, are enormous, he said.
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