Half the women who volunteer to take a pill believed to prevent breast cancer in postmenopausal women will take a dummy, said Kim Heckman, a research nurse at Sudbury Regional Hospital.
Not even the pharmacy will know if the pill it dispenses to volunteers is Exemestane or a placebo that has no effect at all.
Almost 3,000 women from Canada, the U.S. and Spain have agreed to take a pill once a day to help researchers get the drug approved. Twenty-two live in Sudbury. But the team working on the ExCel study needs about 2,100 more to take the pill for three years.
Women who want to sign on first have to qualify, Heckman said. When they phone in, they’ll answer questions like: Are you 35 or older? Does any woman in your immediate family have breast cancer? When did you start having your period? Do you have children? When did you have your first child? Have you had a breast biopsy?
Those who qualify will be invited to an interview with Heckman. They’ll also have a physical exam, mammogram and bone mineral density test.
Besides taking the pill, they’ll meet with Heckman twice a year for the first year and once a year after that.
The majority of participants devote their time because they want to reduce the chances of their children and grandchildren getting breast cancer, Heckman said.
You can reach Kim Heckman at 705-523-7100 ext. 2532.
Quick Facts:
- After menopause, the body continues to make estrogen, which helps cause breast cancer.
- 8,500 Ontario women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008.
- 2,000 Ontario women will die of breast cancer in 2008.
- Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among Ontario women. Lung cancer is the first.
- Since 1999, the number of Canadians getting breast cancer has gone down by 1.7 per cent a year.
