Women Join The Army For Breast Cancer Research

By drodriguez Nov 06, 2008

With more than 200,000 women being diagnosed with breast cancer in the U.S. and more than 40,000 people dying from this disease each year it seems that all the research now being done is simply not enough. Both Avon (one of the largest private funders of breast cancer research) and the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation also believed there was more that could be done to find the cause and eventually a cure for breast cancer. They have teamed up to create what is now known as the Army of Women.

The need for the Avon/Love Army of Women came about due to the difficulties researchers have in finding women volunteers for their breast cancer studies. The recruiting process itself can be very time consuming and prove unsuccessful in the end for scientists. The Army of Women does the recruiting for various research studies and provides the researchers a direct link to volunteers through their website.

According to the Army of Women website, researchers often study cell lines that were developed inside laboratories, samples from tissue banks, and certain animals like mice. Since what happens to cell lines and lab animals is very different from what happens to women, the researchers greatly benefit from more human volunteer based studies.

In order to represent every woman, the Army of Women calls on volunteers of every size, shape, and ethnicity to take part in studies. Both women who have or have had breast cancer in their lifetimes as well as women who have never had the disease are asked to join the network.

Army of Women representatives email women about specific breast cancer studies they may like to take part in. The studies call for women to participate in different ways from simply filling out a questionnaire to donating blood or other tissue samples to lab facilities in their area. Women decide whether they want to participate in a particular study or not. The Army of Women also includes their volunteers in the findings by allowing them to track the progress of their particular study.

Avon and Dr. Susan Love have set their ambitions high with a goal of 1 million women for their Army of Women. They may not have to wait too long for this goal to be reached as their “Army” is currently made up of almost 250,000 women.

If you are interested in learning more about the Army of Women or joining as a breast cancer research volunteer, you can visit the website at www.armyofwomen.org .

What do you think of Avon and Dr. Susan Love’s Army of Women?

Do you think by providing breast cancer researchers with more women volunteers we can find a cause for the disease quicker?

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Comments

by momagarry | MILWAUKEE, WI

Oct 03, 2009

I wish I had known about this when my mom was living with breast cancer.

by kaycibowman | Burden, KS

Sep 30, 2009

I've been trying to find this website for a while. My mother and both my grandmothers are breast cancer survivors. my mom was only 39 when she went through it. I want to help anyway i can. we need to find a cure!

by lyinbob | Cynthiana, KY

May 17, 2009

This is the first time that I have heard of this. WOW! That's all I can say. It is breathtaking to me that women are strong enough to do this. It brings tears to my eyes thinking about all the dieses we have no cure for and now we are taking the right steps to finding a cure for a major disease that women suffer from. I will definetly be signing up to help in any way that I can. I wish more of us out there would be willing to participate in somthing like this to help make a difference.

by miscellaneousfinds4u | Renton, WA

Mar 18, 2009

I'm a member of the Army - it's a great cause and really easy to help. Working together we can make a dent in Breast Cancer. Thanks so all of my sisters for joining! Connie

by mustangmomma | Gravette, AR

Dec 08, 2008

I signed up for this as soon as I saw it on a television show. I am excited because the research pairs those with and those without cancer. It is about time they examined that angle. I urge all women to get involved with this as well as with Susan B Kolman's Race for the Cure.

by bbred57 | Springfield, MN

Nov 14, 2008

Thank you for bringing this to us. I am an 8 year survivor and have always felt like I should be doing something, maybe this can be my "something". I have already signed up and emailed my sister and friends. I hope someday they will find the cure and no women will ever have to go through the pain of breast cancer.

by ILvTink | JACKSONVILLE, FL

Nov 11, 2008

Thanks for the information and the link. I am going to sign up and send it to everyone I know. I was dx with DCIS in august and had surgery one month ago. Luckily a mammogram found this very early but we have to find a cure and a program like this can be part of the cure.

by findingdebra | Lewisville, TX

Nov 11, 2008

thanks for the link. I lost my mom to breast cancer chemo complications at age 55. We need more research!

by teddybear18202 | HAZLE TOWNSHP, PA

Nov 11, 2008

I just signed up for it since i have been diagnosed with breast cancer 3 times in the past and once again going threw it. This is very important. thanks for letting us know about this site.

by MaurChclt | Cattaraugus, NY

Nov 09, 2008

I had heard about this, but this is the first time I found the site to actually sign up. I just joined, and I feel GOOD about it. Now sure if they'll ever use me, but hey, maybe I can make a difference and STOP this horrible disease.. I just emailed the site to about 25 friends. This IS so important. I'm SO glad I saw it here. Thanks!

by Normamay | Miramar, FL

Nov 07, 2008

This is definitely something my sisters and I will be interested in signing up for. I've never heard of anything like it and it sounds like a big step in the right direction for helping the breast cancer cause. It will also be great to feel like you're physically helping in some way and can track progress.