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The Cancer Research Center of Hawaii is participating in a pilot program focusing on breast cancer risks. Hawaii center joins
breast cancer projectStar-Bulletin staff
The project is a collaboration between General Motors Corp. and the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project, supported by the National Cancer Institute.
GM is offering female employees and retirees an opportunity to be screened to determine their risk of developing breast cancer.
The screening process is part of a breast cancer prevention trial called STAR, which is studying effectiveness of the drugs Tamoxifen and Raloxifene in reducing breast cancer risks.
Dr. Marcus G. Wilson, GM corporate medical director, said more than 150,000 of the company's employees, retirees and family members were treated for cancer last year -- nearly 18 percent of the 1.2 million people covered by GM health plans.
"That is why our support for breast cancer prevention research, including STAR, is absolutely critical," he said.
Hawaii women covered by GM health-care plans will be among nearly 140,000 active and retired employees age 35 and older invited to participate in the program.
Ann Kelminski, program coordinator at the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, said, "Corporate support for the idea of preventive health and prevention trials is unique right now, but I hope to say differently in the future. GM should be applauded for their efforts."
More than 500 centers in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada are enrolling 22,000 postmenopausal women age 35 and older into STAR. More than 8,500 have joined since it began in July 1999.
Women interested in locating a STAR site may call Kelminski at the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii or the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service, 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).
For more information on STAR, visit http://www.nsabp.pitt.edu or http://cancertrials.nci.nih.gov and choose "STAR" from the "Most Requested Pages" section.