Cancer study group comes to Strathmore

Times Reporter

 

The Tomorrow Project will be bringing its mobile centre to Strathmore August 8 to 11, allowing local residents a chance to join the long-term research study into the causes of cancer. 

“The reason is, we’re trying to understand what causes cancer and so we start with people who haven’t had cancer and we follow them through time,” said Dr. Elizabeth McGregor. McGregor is an epidemiologist and a population health researcher and is with Alberta Health Services Cancer Care. 

She said it’s called a cohort study and they look at healthy people who have never had cancer, have them fill out a questionnaire, have body measurements taken and give samples of blood and urine. McGregor said they take all the information and follow the people for number of years because it is likely that some of those people will eventually develop a cancer. Researchers will then compare those people to the ones who didn’t, and it will help them understand who is more likely to develop a cancer. 

“The challenge for us is we have to enroll a large number of people and follow them for a long time,” said McGregor.

She said they might send a survey to the participants every three to four years, to see what’s new and how things are going. It is up to the participant if they would like to complete the survey or not. 

“So we are trying to enroll people from across the province, we want to enroll as many people from as diverse a setting and from as many walks of life as possible. So the goal for Alberta is 50,000. We’re fortunate 13,000 have already enrolled so we’re looking for another 37,000,” said McGregor. 

There are fixed study centres in Calgary and Edmonton; however the mobile centre goes to different parts of the province, allowing easier access for people to enroll. 

Participants are needed for both the study and to volunteer to be community and project ambassadors, spreading the word to friends and family in neighbouring communities. 

Though the centre will only be in Strathmore a few days, people interested in taking part can go to the centre in Calgary or call 1-877-919-9292 and request to have a package sent out to them with a questionnaire. 

The mobile study centre will be at the Strathmore Legion, #10, 230 2 Ave. Appointments are necessary and will take about an hour.

Figures show almost half of all Albertans will develop cancer in their lifetime and one in four will die from the disease. In Alberta Health Services’ Calgary zone, which includes Strathmore, about 7,800 people developed cancer in 2009, the latest year for which full records are available, and 1,840 died from the disease.

For information and to join the study, visit www.in4tomorrow.ca and complete the online form, or call toll-free 1-877-919-9292. Spaces are limited and will be booked on a first-in, first-served basis. Those wishing to participate are encouraged to book appointments in advance.