MOUNT AIRY - Mount Airy's mayor, Pat Rockinberg, was among the first participants to volunteer for a study being performed by the American Cancer Society to identify the causes of cancer at M&T Bank in Mount Airy Tuesday.
"Cancer affects every one of us," Rockinberg said. "This is something easy we can do."
The study will track volunteers every few years for the next 20 to 30 years regarding their habits in a variety of areas. Volunteers must be between 30 and 65 years old and have never been diagnosed with cancer, said cancer researcher Dr. Alpha Patel.
Patel, the principal investigator of the Cancer Prevention Study-3, said her previous work has primarily been in the link between obesity and cancer. Her previous research as been in the fields of how physical activity can prevent cancer, and how if someone is obese, the fat can feed tumor growth.
"We'll be looking at a wide range of lifestyle, behavioral, genetic and environmental factors and how they work together to influence a person's risk of developing or dying from cancer," Patel said.
The American Cancer Society is seeking 300,000 volunteers from around the country and at least 4,900 in the state of Maryland, said Beth Garbolino, the area executive director for the American Cancer Society. They will seek participants in Carroll, Frederick, Howard, Washington, Allegheny and Garrett counties, she said.
At Mount Airy's last council meeting, Rockinberg declared March 12 Cancer Prevention Day, to coincide with the American Cancer Society's first events to sign up for the study. The American Cancer Society hopes to have 425 volunteers from Carroll County, said Garbolino.
Enrollment dates last until March 16. Participants must sign up in person.
Patel said the commitment is less of a rigorous commitment and more of a philosophical one.
"We're not asking anyone to change what they do or how they live, we're just asking them to share with us what they do and how they live," Patel said.
