I've joined the army

The Army of Women, at www.armyofwomen.org

This is a partnership between women and researchers who will work together to discover the causes of breast cancer and how to prevent it.

Here is why this is important. There is only so much we can learn from animal studies (I know this from experience). Most current breast cancer research focuses on treating women who already have cancer. But wouldn't it be wonderful to find out what causes cancer in the first place so that we can prevent it from ever happening? That is what the Army of Women is trying to do. They hope to recruit ONE MILLION women willing to participate in various studies. Finding people to participate is one of the most difficult challenges many researchers face. The Army of Women will provide a large, willing pool of participants for researchers to draw from when they are doing an investigation. I've already signed up, I hope you and your friends and family members, coleagues and internet friends will too.

It is such an elegant and simple thing. You sign up as a volunteer. As new research projects come around they will send emails out looking for women with certain characteristics willing to participate. If you are interested, you let them know. It's that simple. You can do as much or as little as you want.

I've done this type of thing before for another study. It involved answering survey questions, and providing urine and blood samples. I've also donated saliva samples, cord blood samples, and breast milk samples for researchers. I'm probably a bit more gung-ho than the average Jane, but I feel these are small things I can do to help gain more insight into the bigger picture.

I'm so excited about this. I think this really is a way that we can all come together and make a difference. So, consider signing up. www.armyofwomen.org