Why is the Sister Study So Important?
- The Sister Study will collect information about exposures before a woman's body has been changed by breast cancer, its treatment, or changes she might make in her lifestyle after being told she has breast cancer. Researchers will be able to compare this information between women who do and do not get breast cancer. Because the exposures and lifestyle factors will have occurred before the diagnosis of breast cancer, we will be able to learn more about what leads to breast cancer.
- Women in the study will tell us about a wide range of exposures and lifestyle factors throughout their lives, and give us a blood sample, toenail clippings, and a dust sample. Women will be weighed and measured and will fill out several questionnaires. We will contact women in the study each year to find out current address and health information . This wealth of information could answer many questions about breast cancer risks including the combined effects of genes and environment. Click here for a full list of everything you will be asked to do.
- The Sister Study is the first study of its kind to look only at sisters of women with breast cancer. Sisters share certain genes and risk factors and sisters of women with breast cancer have a higher risk of getting the disease themselves. More of them will have exposures or genes that may be important for breast cancer. This will make it easier for researchers to identify risk factors for breast cancer.