SISTER STUDY UPDATE

50,000 Sisters Of Women With Breast Cancer

Needed To Help Find Causes Of The Disease

Happy New Year, Sister Study volunteers and supporters! We hope you had a wonderful holiday season and wish you a happy and healthy 2005!!

On October 18, 2004, the study was officially opened in all 50 states during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Our kickoff event was held in Washington DC with a national press conference. The key speakers were our Sister Study Principal Investigator, Dr. Dale Sandler, and the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Dr. Kenneth Olden. TV, radio and newspaper articles were run across the US.

This media blitz quickly caused our phones to ring non-stop, and we now have over 16,000 women enrolled! But you, our volunteers, are still the heart of our recruitment efforts. When women are asked, "How did you learn about the study?", the most common sources reported are "friends, family or sister," which includes any mention of our local volunteers. We thank you so very much for that!

16,000 women is a tremendous success for the first year of the study. Yet most of the women enrolled are Caucasian , 35-64, and with college degrees or higher in education. Therefore, we are shifting our focus and efforts to recruit a more diverse group of women so that the study can truly represent all US women.

Below is our current enrollment in the demographics we will be focusing on and how

many more we need to recruit in these harder to reach groups:

African Americans- current enrollment is 500, we need 4,500 more to meet our 5,000 goal

Hispanics/Latinas-- current enrollment is 400, we need 2,100 more to meet our 2,500 goal

Women 65 and over, current enrollment is 2000, we need 12,750 to meet our 14,750 goal

Asians- current enrollment is 100, we need 2,400 more to meet our 2,500 goal

Within your sphere of influence, please consider helping us recruit one woman, just one woman from any of the groups outlined above. We cannot learn what we need to know about breast cancer unless the women in the study reflect the diversity of US women in race, ethnicity, age, education and occupations. Think of approaching a local church, senior center, clinic or getting a notice about the study published in a targeted publication such as newsletters or church bulletins. We can provide you with up-to-date text for articles. We are happy to give you ideas on where to go in your area, so feel free to contact one of us on the Recruitment Team for ideas on how to enroll a diverse group of women. We are beginning new projects to improve recruitment with key populations.

For example:

In January 2005, we will begin a special effort to recruit women in the 4 Mississippi Delta states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. If you have contacts with organizations or individuals that work with minority populations or older women, please let us know.

We are starting a national initiative to reach women 65 and over, so we are looking for ideas on how to get messages to older women and motivate them to join. If you have contacts with local senior centers, councils on aging or senior church groups, we'd appreciate your help making those connections. We are designing new recruitment brochures that will be aimed at appealing to women 65+.

By summer 2005, we will have all study materials translated into Spanish, and at that time will begin very intensive recruitment in areas with high Hispanic populations and will work with national and regional Hispanic media.

To achieve a better mix of women from all types of occupations, we are looking for organizations that reach skilled trades, blue collar, industrial or agricultural women workers, such as labor unions or workers' health organizations.

We are already partnering with the American Cancer Society, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Sisters Network, Inc, and Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization. If you have connections with any of these organizations locally, please look for opportunities to attend their events and promote the study.

Again, thank you for what you have done already for the study and thanks in advance for your continued commitment!

With best wishes,

The Sister Study Recruitment Team

Catherine Andrews andrews3@niehs.nih.gov

Amy Harwell harwella@niehs.nih.gov

Lourdes Suárez suarez1@niehs.nih.gov

Sara Williams willia50@niehs.nih.gov