A two-hour donation of your time, and a sample of your blood, urine or saliva may be the most important legacy that you can leave your descendants.
The Tomorrow Project, a 50-year research project that aims to study the causes of cancer, is recruiting participants from Morinville and St. Albert.
By 2012, project researchers hope to have enrolled 50,000 Albertans between the ages of 35 and 69 who have never had cancer. Nationally, the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow Project is recruiting 300,000 people from five provinces.
“Much of the important knowledge to be gained from this project about what causes cancer will benefit our children and grandchildren,” researcher Dr. Paula Robson said in a press release Monday.
The first study began in 2000 in Alberta and originally 30,000 participants were asked to take part. Those participants are also asked to re-register for the study.
“At this point, people have the option of sending back the questionnaire along with a saliva donation or they can visit the mobile centres for a urine or blood sample donation and a questionnaire follow-up that includes taking some simple body measurements,” said Courtney Allen, communications advisor for the Tomorrow Project.
Participants will be issued an identification number and, for privacy reasons, all their data will be retained under that number. At no time will their name and identification number be connected. Participants will be contacted at regular intervals of one to five years for follow-up information. Newsletters and stay-in-touch emails will allow participants to remain in the study, even if they move.
Allen stressed that recruiters are looking for volunteer participants from all walks of life, regardless of lifestyle.
“We want cumulative knowledge and we need every kind of person from the health conscious to others who are not. It is a cohort study up to 50 years, so much of the information, especially for the older participants, will be learned after their death,” said Allen.
And while the focus is on cancer, Allen explained that recruiters are open to the idea of answering questions about other diseases as well.
“Questions about some other diseases may be solved and will not be overlooked. The data may be used in the future to apply to other diseases,” she said.
People interested in the study are asked to phone 1-877-919-9292 or to visit www.in4tomorrow.ca for online registration. They will be sent a kit along with a questionnaire that takes about one hour to complete. It asks for specific information about lifestyle, environment and even genealogical data regarding family members who may have had cancer.
The mobile centre will be in Morinville at Georges P. Vanier School at 10020 101 Ave. from Aug. 15 to 18. The study centre will be at the St. Albert Community Hall (17 Perron St.) from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1. Appointments are necessary and take approximately one hour.
