By TEDDY KULMALA
Gail Diggs is no stranger to cancer.
Her mother died in 1988, during her third battle with cancer.
A city councilwoman, Diggs later found out that she had melanoma, "a cancer that I didn't even think impacted African-Americans," she said on Thursday. "Cancer has made too many uninvited visits to my family's home."
She paused a couple of times to fight back tears while speaking to a group of people at St. John's United Methodist Church in downtown Aiken, where the American Cancer Society kicked off the Cancer Prevention Study-3, the third in a series of landmark studies by the ACS.
The first study, launched in the 1950s, found that cigarette smoking causes cancer and other diseases. The second study, which began in 1982 and is ongoing, determined that diet, exercise and other lifestyle choices and habits heavily impact a person's likelihood of getting cancer.
The goal of CPS-3 is to better understand lifestyle, environmental and genetic factors that cause cancer, according to Lisa Glass, community manager for the South Atlantic Division of the ACS.
The long-term study, which lasts 20 to 30 years, seeks to recruit 300,000 people by December 2013.
To enroll in the study, participants first complete a survey, either online or a mail-in form, on their lifestyle, behavioral and other health factors. Then, at a local enrollment event, participants will provide a waist measurement and a small blood sample.
Every two or three years, participants receive a survey to complete and mail back to update the ACS on their information.
Glass said the blood sample will not have any diagnostic work done on it, and that it will only be examined if a participant is diagnosed with cancer.
Aiken area residents will have two days in October to enroll in the study: Oct. 23 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the H. Odell Weeks Activities Center at 1700 Whiskey Road, and on Oct. 25 from 3 to 7 p.m. at Aiken Technical College at 2276 Jefferson Davis Highway.
Mary Commons, who spoke as a representative of Aiken Tech, one of the partners in the study, said she got involved in the study because she knows many people who have been touched by the disease, including a friend who is currently battling cancer.
"She's gone through so much, and she's surviving," Commons said. "By taking part in this survey, I'm hoping that, one day, you won't hear those three words: You have cancer."
Thomas Kelly, service excellence coordinator for Aiken Regional Medical Centers, pulled a football from a bag when he spoke. He drew comparisons between the kickoff of the cancer study and the kickoff of the college football season, which was marked on Thursday night with the USC-Vanderbilt game.
"This is the kickoff for the game of the century," Kelly said. "Who are we playing against? Cancer. We're in this to win the Super Bowl. This is the kickoff."
Attendees were encouraged to be "champions," by informing people about the study and recruiting at least 10 people to enroll. The goal for Aiken is 200 enrollees.
Glass said she was pleased with the turnout, and she's confident Aiken will surpass the 200 mark.
"Aiken is such a supportive community, and they really get behind causes," she said after the meeting. "It takes a personal connection."
Tiffany Morgan's personal connection is her grandmother, who died two years ago from liver cancer, and her grandfather, who is battling stomach cancer. Both were diagnosed around the same time.
"He's refusing treatment, only because he's older and doesn't want to be sick," she said. "Before, I would have said 'Never.' And then two years ago, they both got cancer at the same time. It's dramatic, from one day to the next."
To enroll, you must be a U.S. citizen between the ages of 30 and 65, and you cannot have a cancer diagnosis other than basil cell or squamous cell skin cancer.
For more information, email Glass at lisa.glass@cancer.org or call 226-9202. You can also find out more about the study by visiting www.cancer.org/Research.
Teddy Kulmala covers the SRS and Courts beat for the Aiken Standard. He is a graduate of Clemson University and hails from Williston.![]()
Gail Diggs is no stranger to cancer.
Her mother died in 1988, during her third battle with cancer.
A city councilwoman, Diggs later found out that she had melanoma, "a cancer that I didn't even think impacted African-Americans," she said on Thursday. "Cancer has made too many uninvited visits to my family's home."
She paused a couple of times to fight back tears while speaking to a group of people at St. John's United Methodist Church in downtown Aiken, where the American Cancer Society kicked off the Cancer Prevention Study-3, the third in a series of landmark studies by the ACS.
The first study, launched in the 1950s, found that cigarette smoking causes cancer and other diseases. The second study, which began in 1982 and is ongoing, determined that diet, exercise and other lifestyle choices and habits heavily impact a person's likelihood of getting cancer.
The goal of CPS-3 is to better understand lifestyle, environmental and genetic factors that cause cancer, according to Lisa Glass, community manager for the South Atlantic Division of the ACS.
The long-term study, which lasts 20 to 30 years, seeks to recruit 300,000 people by December 2013.
To enroll in the study, participants first complete a survey, either online or a mail-in form, on their lifestyle, behavioral and other health factors. Then, at a local enrollment event, participants will provide a waist measurement and a small blood sample.
Every two or three years, participants receive a survey to complete and mail back to update the ACS on their information.
Glass said the blood sample will not have any diagnostic work done on it, and that it will only be examined if a participant is diagnosed with cancer.
Aiken area residents will have two days in October to enroll in the study: Oct. 23 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the H. Odell Weeks Activities Center at 1700 Whiskey Road, and on Oct. 25 from 3 to 7 p.m. at Aiken Technical College at 2276 Jefferson Davis Highway.
Mary Commons, who spoke as a representative of Aiken Tech, one of the partners in the study, said she got involved in the study because she knows many people who have been touched by the disease, including a friend who is currently battling cancer.
"She's gone through so much, and she's surviving," Commons said. "By taking part in this survey, I'm hoping that, one day, you won't hear those three words: You have cancer."
Thomas Kelly, service excellence coordinator for Aiken Regional Medical Centers, pulled a football from a bag when he spoke. He drew comparisons between the kickoff of the cancer study and the kickoff of the college football season, which was marked on Thursday night with the USC-Vanderbilt game.
"This is the kickoff for the game of the century," Kelly said. "Who are we playing against? Cancer. We're in this to win the Super Bowl. This is the kickoff."
Attendees were encouraged to be "champions," by informing people about the study and recruiting at least 10 people to enroll. The goal for Aiken is 200 enrollees.
Glass said she was pleased with the turnout, and she's confident Aiken will surpass the 200 mark.
"Aiken is such a supportive community, and they really get behind causes," she said after the meeting. "It takes a personal connection."
Tiffany Morgan's personal connection is her grandmother, who died two years ago from liver cancer, and her grandfather, who is battling stomach cancer. Both were diagnosed around the same time.
"He's refusing treatment, only because he's older and doesn't want to be sick," she said. "Before, I would have said 'Never.' And then two years ago, they both got cancer at the same time. It's dramatic, from one day to the next."
To enroll, you must be a U.S. citizen between the ages of 30 and 65, and you cannot have a cancer diagnosis other than basil cell or squamous cell skin cancer.
For more information, email Glass at lisa.glass@cancer.org or call 226-9202. You can also find out more about the study by visiting www.cancer.org/Research.
Teddy Kulmala covers the SRS and Courts beat for the Aiken Standard. He is a graduate of Clemson University and hails from Williston.