Women create nationwide movement to eradicate breast cancer

AN ARMY OF HEALTHY WOMEN AND BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS UNITE TO FIND THE CAUSE OF BREAST CANCER

More than 300,000 women from across the U.S. have signed up for the Love/Avon Army of Women creating a nationwide movement to eradicate breast cancer. Eighty percent of the women who have joined the Army of Women have never had breast cancer, but want to play a role in ending the disease once and for all.

The Army of Women is a first of its kind partnership between breast cancer researchers and women willing to participate in studies aimed at finding the cause of breast cancer and determining how to prevent it. The goal of the Army of Women is to recruit one million women of all ages and ethnicities whether they have had breast cancer or not.

Over the past year, researchers have recruited more than 12,000 volunteers for a wide range of studies, including the effects of diet and exercise to looking at a possible genetic link between sisters as well as hormones and postmenopausal women.

"Determining the cause of breast cancer is not just going to take more research, it's going to take a different type of research," said Dr. Susan Love, president of the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation. "Studying mice and rats isn't enough. After all, mice and rats don't get breast cancer. We need more studies with real women and our Army of Women is eager and willing to volunteer."

This year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nearly 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 will die from the disease. Every three minutes in the U.S. a women is diagnosed with breast cancer.

Launched last October, the Love/Avon Army of Women is a partnership between the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation and the Avon Foundation for Women. Women interested in joining the Army of Women can register for free at www.armyofwomen.org by providing some basic information including, name, age, city and state of residence.

Army of Women members periodically receive "call-to-action" emails announcing new research studies along with a brief description. All research studies are reviewed by a scientific advisory committee that includes researchers and breast cancer advocates. Members who fit the criteria and are interested in participating simply "RSVP" for the study. Participation in studies is not mandatory. Each Army of Women volunteer makes the decision to take part in studies and they can self select based on criteria and interest.

"It takes less than three minutes to go online and join the Army of Women," said Dr. Love. "The Army of Women is going to change the way we approach breast cancer research."