Army of Women: Health of Women Study

It's been a while since I've written one of these posts. Here is a study everyone can be a part of:

 Health of Women (HOW) Study

This is a research study that aims to discover HOW breast cancer starts and HOW to prevent it. Every woman can take part in the study, as well as men living with breast cancer or at high risk for breast cancer.

Research Study Goals:

• The goal of the HOW study is to study a large group of men and women over time to examine the causes of breast cancer. In order to do this, we will need to include all ages, ethnicities, and races, as well as to compare those who have been diagnosed with breast cancer to those who have not. The HOW Study will ask you to answer questions about your health and health habits over time to give us a view of what people are doing and how their health is being affected. In addition, we will be asking specific questions of women and men living with breast cancer to give us ideas about what, beyond treatment, leads to long term survival as well as what the real long term side effects of current treatments are. We will include specific questions for underrepresented groups such as people with metastatic disease, men with breast cancer, transgender individuals, and women from particular ethnic groups. Finally, this study will address the questions you've been asking: is there an environmental cause of breast cancer, are fertility drugs and bio-identical hormones safe, and what about deodorant and underwire bras (source)?

What is involved?:

• Participation in the HOW study will require the completion of online questionnaires addressing health and well-being, medical history, reproductive health history, and family health history periodically. You will receive a Call-to-Action email with a questionnaire whenever a new one is available. Questionnaires are only released every few months, or so, and will take between 30 and 60 minutes (or less) to complete. Study results will be shared with you. The study is long-term, but you also have the option of withdrawing from the study.

Who is conducting the study?:

• The study is conducted by the Dr. Susan Love Research foundation, in partnership with Dr. Leslie Bernstein from the Beckman Research Institute at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, CA.

Where?

• Study participants can live anywhere worldwide.

Study Requirements (you must match ALL of these requirements):

• You are at least 18 years old
• You have access to an internet connection through a computer or mobile device
• You are willing to be part of this study long term
• You are EITHER
• a woman (with or without breast cancer) OR
• a man living with breast cancer or at high risk for breast cancer

 If you are interested in being a part of this study, sign up here.

** Note **

I am an Army of Women (AOW) Supporting Blogger. 

This simply means that I volunteer to use my blog as a medium to publish posts that will bring awareness and recruit participants for nationwide Breast Cancer Research studies. Army of Women research studies are in conjunction with the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation's initiative to:

• Recruit 1 million women and men of every age and ethnicity, including breast cancer survivors and women at high-risk for the disease, to partner with breast cancer researchers and directly participate in the research that will eradicate breast cancer once and for all.
• To challenge the scientific community to expand its current focus to include breast cancer prevention research conducted on healthy women.

Enough Awareness, It's Time for Action!

October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month and ashamedly I admit to have neglected my duties for the Army of Women (AOW), and failed to write a breast cancer related post. This is my attempt at making up for it:

At this stage of the game, we are all aware of breast cancer. It is that imminent thing that lies over our heads during our doctor visits, especially as we get older. It is that disease that many women fear. The one that causes us to lose loved ones, and forces us to fight if diagnosed. We are all aware.

That is why the Dr. Susan Love Foundation has suggested to shift the month of October from being a month of awareness to a month of action thereby becoming Breast Cancer Action Month.

This new initiative plays in with the goals of the Love/Avon Army of Women very well. In conjunction with the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, the Love/Avon Army of Women strives to find the causes of breast cancer and ways to prevent it through scientific research.  By recruiting 1 million women (and men) from all walks of life into the Love/Avon Army of Women, they are building a network or community of people who may be eligible (and are encouraged to) participate in the many research studies being conducted by scientists across the United States.

So, how can you 'Act With Love' towards breast cancer? Here are a few simple things you could do:

• Invest yourself by signing up for the Army of Women program, celebrating its four year anniversary and more than 360,000 women strong; and by signing up for the Health of Women Study, a revolutionary online study that women over the age of 18, with or without a history of breast cancer can participate in, so we can identify new risk factors for breast cancer and ways to prevent it.
• Also, invest your friends by either forwarding this post everyone you know and asking them sign up for the Health of Women Study and the Army of Women or being part of their Facebook community.
• And if you feel so inclined, invest your dollars by making a donation or by purchasing products from the AOW partners that chose them because research and ending the disease is a top priority for them. 

To read my previous Army of Women posts, follow the link in the page sidebar, or click here. You can also check the "Army of Women -- Current Breast Cancer Studies" tab at the top of the page for information on current studies that still need volunteers.

**I am an Army of Women (AOW) Supporting Blogger. **