Sunday, Jun. 15, 2008

Relay, participation in cancer study offer 2 ways to help combat disease

American Cancer Society is asking participants to help prevention study

During an annual event held in June, thousands of Stanislaus County residents circle the track to raise money to fight cancer.

Next weekend, the American Cancer Society Relay for Life in Modesto will afford another opportunity to strike a blow against the second-leading cause of death in the United States.

Volunteers can enroll in Cancer Prevention Study 3, which hopes to shed light on the lifestyle, genetic and environmental factors that cause or prevent cancer. The study will obtain detailed information from participants ages 30 to 65 who have not had cancer and will follow them for 20 years.

The 24-hour Relay for Life will start at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the Johansen High School football stadium. Enrollment in the study will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The Modesto relay was chosen for the study because it draws 5,000 to 6,000 people a year.

"Modesto has a very large relay and we have a diverse population in our community," said Kathy Robey, Relay for Life chairwoman.

"I'm going to volunteer because cancer runs in my fam- ily. If I can do anything to prevent anyone else from getting it, I feel it is something I can do."

The research is another in a series of long-term studies conducted by the American Cancer Society since the 1950s. The first studies showed clear evidence of the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer.

Cancer Prevention Study 2, which started in 1982, has involved more than 1 million Americans.

The newest study, to involve 500,000 adults in the United States and Puerto Rico, will look for cancer causes in behavior, environment and genetic makeup. It started enrollment in earnest last year; this is the first and only year people will be enrolled at the Modesto Relay for Life, Robey said.

During the enrollment Saturday, participants will fill out a brief survey and have their waistlines measured, then a licensed phlebotomist will draw of vial of their blood.

People who have been diagnosed with cancer are excluded from the study unless it was a milder form of skin cancer, said Cheryl Casey, local study chairman and community outreach coordinator for cancer services at Memorial Medical Center.

Within a few weeks, participants will be mailed an extensive questionnaire that takes about 45 minutes to complete. It requests details on health his- tory, family history, medications, physical activity, sleep habits, tobacco and alcohol consumption, vitamin intake, sun exposure and other conditions in the person's environment.

Every two years, participants will receive a brief survey seeking updated information. Their blood will be stored and analyzed if the individual is diagnosed with cancer, Casey said.

The prevention studies have spawned more than 300 scientific articles, and findings could be reported before the 20-year study period is completed.

Casey said the surveys include a number of dietary questions that can make a person feel guilty, but participants must give accurate information.

Many of those who attend the Relay for Life are women or people whose families have been touched by cancer, but the study is casting a broader net for volunteers, Casey said.

"They need men," Casey said. "They don't participate in the relay as much as women do. If they don't have men enrolled, they won't have the data they need for cancers more prevalent in men."

Relay for Life events will take place Saturday and Sunday in Modesto and Turlock. The relays begin with cancer survivors taking the first lap, then sponsored team members navigate the track to raise money for cancer education, research and patient services. The Modesto goal is to raise $510,000.

After dark, lighted candles are placed around the track to honor cancer survivors and those who lost their lives to the disease.

Bee staff writer Ken Carlson can be reached at kcarlson@modbee.com or 578-2321.