Mayor Bell, American Cancer Society call for volunteers

Help sought in study aimed at finding causes of cancer

3/21/2013

Toledo Mayor Mike Bell joined the American Cancer Society today in its call for volunteers to participate in a national study aimed at finding the causes of cancer.

“For me this is about quality of life,” Mr. Bell said during a news conference at the University of Toledo's Savage Arena.

“It was not hard for me to get on board with this Cancer Prevention Study-3 because I think it is extremely important,” he said.

The Cancer Prevention Study-3 is the third phase of an ongoing effort to discover the causes of cancer. In phase one, the study officially linked cigarette smoking to lung cancer. In phase two, obesity and certain foods were identified as a cause, said Amy Boehm, health promotions coordinator at the American Cancer Society.

The study is open to people 30 to 65 who have never been diagnosed with cancer. UT'S goal is to enroll 800 adults from various racial and ethnic backgrounds in northwest Ohio.

Enrollment sites are scheduled on UT's main and health science campuses from April 16 to April 20.

Mr. Bell said April 16 would be proclaimed at Cancer Prevention Study-3 day in Toledo.

“Hopefully we will have so many people who register they will have to cut it off... but that has not typically been the case,” the mayor said. “If you through a study can help somebody else be healthy, why wouldn't you do it?”

Participants will be asked to read and sign a consent form, complete a small written survey, provide a waist circumference, and a small blood sample, Ms. Boehm said.

Dr. Roland T. Skeel, professor, division of hematology and oncology at the University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College of Ohio Hospital, also encouraged people to join the study.

“The past decade has seen an explosion of new knowledge about cancer that has shown great promise for our ability to control this often devastating health problem,” he said. “While new, more targeted and individualized treatments have improved our ability to fight against cancer, this study to improve our understanding of the causes of cancer can do even more to help reduce the number of lives impacted by this disease.”

For more information or to register to participate, visit www.ToledoCPS3.org.