Want to make a real difference in the fight against breast cancer?

[hedgehog]

People must be getting sick of me posting about the Army of Women, but here I go again!

What is the HOW Study?
The goal of the HOW Study is to follow all of you over time so that we get a better picture of what causes breast cancer. In order to do this, we need to compare those who have been diagnosed with breast cancer to those who have not. The HOW Study will ask you to answer questions about your health and health habits over time to give us a view of what people are doing and how their health is being affected. In addition, we will be asking specific questions of women and men living with breast cancer to give us ideas about what, beyond treatment, leads to long term survival as well as what the real long term side effects of current treatments are. Finally, this will be the study that addresses the questions you've been asking: is there an environmental cause of breast cancer, are fertility drugs and bio-identical hormones safe, and what about deodorant and underwire bras?

The HOW Study will be the largest online study of its kind. ONE MILLION women are needed for this study. We need ALL WOMEN, of every age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and health status so that the answers will be relevant to all women!

he study is a true collaboration between the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, and epidemiologists Katherine Henderson and Leslie Bernstein from the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope, with help from our friends at the National Cancer Institute's CaBIG division. But actually it is YOUR study! It will take ALL of us together working to find the cause of this disease!
Where?
Anywhere you have consistent access to the internet.
Who can participate?
You can sign up for the HOW Study if you match ALL of these categories:
1. You are a member of the Love/Avon Army of Women
2. You are at least 18 years old
3. Although this is the Health of Women Study and ALL WOMEN can join, we will also accept men living with breast cancer as well, as we think their cases can shed important light on this disease.

http://www.armyofwomen.org/

[La Lioness Priyanka]

1. thanks for this. i will sign up.

[hedgehog]

2. Take special note that this study wants to go beyond straight white women -

they want women of every color and sexual orientation. Dr. Susan Love, who is head of this organization, is a member of the GLBT community.

I mention this because in another recent thread, someone else brought up the issue of mammograms for young black women. The recent recommendations regarding mammograms didn't address the fact that young black women are more likely to develop breast cancer than young white women.

[noiretextatique]

3. thanks...signing up for my sister

who died of breast cancer in 2006. and for myself, diagnosed in 2007. and especially for my nieces.

[hedgehog]

5. I just decided to print a sheet about the Army of Women and stick it in all my Christmas cards.

It doesn't seem Christmasy to talk about cancer, but working together to save live is sure in the Christmas spirit!

[noiretextatique]

20. great idea! i tell people to donate at xmas

to breast cancer research in lieu of gifts. life is the greatest gift :thumbsup:

[Wanet]

4. thank you!

I just signed up and sent the information to my sisters and nieces. I was diagnosed with breast cancer 5 years ago, currently in remission, and have been looking for something that doesn't involve "the cure" and pink ribbons. We need to find out why there IS so much breast cancer and focus on prevention, not just treatments that benefit the pharmaceutical industry and insurance companies. -- Wanet

[Ohio Joe]

6. K&R

Sorry, being a guy I can't participate but I'll give a K&R

[hedgehog]

9. Tell the women in your life. Maybe post it on a bulletin board somewhere.

[Ohio Joe]

14. I will do that - nt

[hunter]

7. I thought you were gonna say "have your kids young and breastfeed them long..."

It's still a great post.

;)

[REP]

8. Check out bca.org

[hedgehog]

10. BioCommunications Association? They look like a good group,

but I don't think I 'm seeing what you want me to see.

[Contrary1]

11. They might be talking about this group:

http://www.bcaction.org/

[hedgehog]

12. thanks - that makes more sense!

[hedgehog]

13. The Breast Cancer Awareness group doesn't seem to mention

the Army of Women, but I think these two groups are headed in the same direction. The HOW study might be able to turn up environmental exposures as a cause.

[niyad]

17. years ago, when my best friend had cancer (at that point, in remission)

I found an article that talked about how nobody in the field of breast cancer research and treatment was talking about environmental causes. that seemed pretty obvious to me, and to my friend and others in her support group when I sent her the article. one of the things she told me was that, at that time at least, marin county had one of the highest rates of breast cancer in the country, a bit surprising for what was one of the wealthier, and healthier, communities in the country.

[hedgehog]

19. Someone posted a link in the Health forum that was eye opening.

While i agree with you that environmental poisons are part of the picture, especially those that mimic hormones, there is a growing body of evidence that sun exposure/vitamin D levels is also a significant factor. My understanding is that higher Vitamin D levels enable the body to repair the damage done by environmental toxins. Correlation is not causation, but when you discover that black women have higher rates of breast cancer, and that breast cancer rates in general rise with latitude, it makes you go "hmmmm".

http://www.grassrootshealth.net/documentation

If you do nothing else- check out the maps in this presentation:

http://www.grassrootshealth.net/media/download/20091103garland.pdf

[hedgehog]

15. C'mon folks - one more recomendation and we get a temp spot on the greatest page!

[niyad]

16. off to greatest with you

[niyad]

18. bookmarking