It seems at least once a week I hear of someone close to me or close to a family member or friend who has been diagnosed with cancer. We wait for biopsies, results from scans and surgery. Besides the sadness and tears and I find a huge sense of frustration. How can I help? How can I help not just my friend who has been diagnosed, but how can I help do something bigger? At one time I regularly donated platelets at Sloan Kettering, but that isn't possible now and I wanted to do something that would help. I'm not a scientist, but I got an email that showed me a way I could join with three hundred thousand other people to help prevent cancer.
Two weeks ago I went to Roosevelt Hospital, just a mile from my home, and became a participant in the American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study-3. This is a twenty-year study that will include 300,000 people between the ages of 30 and 65, who have not been diagnosed with cancer. Having squamous or basal cell skin cancer does not preclude people from joining the study. The initial visit involved an hour of my time and a donation of blood and I spent another half hour at home filling out a questionnaire about my health. We will receive follow up surveys as the survey progresses, which should take about forty-five minutes to complete. That's it. That's all I have to do to help prevent cancer.
We won't see the results quickly, but I think of it as a gift to the younger people I love. One blood draw and ten or twenty surveys is a very small price to help make our world a healthier place for them. If you go to the link above you will find details about how you can join this study.
This post is for those I love and their loved ones who are in my prayers for healing, and for our dear Tim.
