'Cancer Fighters' Sought for Historic Study

News Report  

St. Joseph’s Hospital, in collaboration with the American Cancer Society, seeks Tampa Bay area “cancer fighters” to join an historic nationwide study into the genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors that might cause or prevent cancer. 

“By participating in this study, you can personally contribute to the fight against cancer,” said St. Joseph’s Cancer Institute Director Brad Smith, in a release on the study. “Just as CPS-1 and CPS-2 helped us better understand the harmful effects of smoking, CPS-3 promises to help us better understand the relationship between other factors and cancer. We need to know what genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors can cause and or prevent cancer to help protect our children and grandchildren.”

The study will follow participants for at least 20 years. St. Joseph’s Hospitals Cancer Institute hopes that people in the community will honor their friends and family members who have been touched by cancer by joining in this landmark research study. 

“The goal is to keep enrolling participants in CPS-3 until the American Cancer Society reaches its enrollment goals,” Smith said.  “It might take a few years to reach the goal of 300,000 people, but the faster we enroll participants and complete the surveys, the faster we can learn even more about the causes and prevention of cancer.”

Men and women ages 30 to 65, who have never been diagnosed with cancer, are encouraged to enroll in Cancer Prevention Study-3 (CPS-3), and can do so during three events hosted by St. Joseph’s hospitals in July:

• July 19, from 12 to 4 p.m. — St. Joseph’s Hospital-North, 4211Van Dyke Road, Lutz

• July 27, from 12 to 4 p.m. — St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, 3001 West Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd.

• July 28, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. — Bob Sierra YMCA, 4029 Northdale Blvd.

During the enrollment events, research participants will  be asked to complete a questionnaire and give a small blood sample, along with height, weight and blood pressure information.  

Participants do not have to know all of the answers on the questionnaire at the time of the enrollment event; there will be a timeframe for participants to go back and research health history, if needed.

Potential participants are asked to visit the CPS-3 website to get more information.

For more information about the study, or to enroll, call St. Joseph’s Cancer HelpLine at (813) 870-4123 or visit http://acsgld.org/cps3tampa/.