SISTER STUDY
Wanted: UAW women to participate in breast cancer research
Researchers for the Sister Study, an in-depth long-term examination of women whose sisters had breast cancer, know they need a diverse group of women so the results of the study will apply to all women.
That's why researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), one of the National Institutes of Health, are putting out the call for women in trades to join the Sister Study.
As the study approaches the goal of enrolling 50,000 diverse women, they continue special outreach to African-American, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander and Native American women, and to women with blue-collar or nontraditional jobs. Caucasian women with a high school degree or less, or who are ages 65-74 are also still needed.
Other groups are already well-represented in the study group.
"Our entire team is delighted to be close to reaching our goal of enrolling 50,000 sisters so we can begin to focus on the real purpose of our research: finding causes of breast cancer," said Dale Sandler, chief of the epidemiology branch at NIEHS and principal investigator of the Sister Study.
"Many UAW members have already enrolled in the Sister Study, and we encourage even more to join, so that their experiences and environments on the job and at home will be well-represented in the study," Sandler said.
"We especially would love to have more Hispanics, African-Americans and other ethnic minorities from the UAW participate, so that results will also apply to these often overlooked populations."