Our Coalition's board of directors, and in particular Dr. James Hotz, first thought of the idea of a Georgia "cohort study" to find the reasons for our high rates of cancer. This type of work involves studying many people (a cohort) over a long period of time to find possible links to developing cancer. The Georgia Cancer (Cohort) Study came from that original idea and grew into a statewide project led by Emory University and funded by the Georgia Cancer Coalition. The original goal was to study 140,000 Georgians across the state. Unfortunately, funding constraints currently have caused the project to be discontinued for an undetermined period of time. Other resources are being sought to resume this important study in the near future.
However, in 2007, with our Coalition's help, Crisp County served as the first rural location for this groundbreaking work. Our partner Crisp Regional Hospital and the local community embraced the project and over six months, nearly 500 individuals were successfully enrolled in the study. Participants gave information about their diet, lifestyle, environment, and health history, and over 8,000 samples of blood, urine, and saliva were collected and stored. The participants are to be followed for years at no cost to them. As one grateful resident stated, "I know so many people around here with cancer. Now I feel like I'm helping to find out why. And maybe it will help so my kids don't get cancer." Contigent on additional funding, we are prepared to expand the cancer cohort study to other parts of southwest Georgia.
The Coalition's Center to Reduce Cancer Disparities is committed to reducing tobacco-related disability and death in southwest Georgia. For example, Miller County is a community that suffers one of the highest lung cancer death rates in the region.
In partnership with the Southwest Public Health District, and with funding from the Georgia Department of Human Resources, our Coalition's Center is now conducting a two-year tobacco control project in Miller County. The program first assesses the community to determine the population(s) at greatest risk of tobacco-related illness and death. In the second year, we will develop and deliver interventions to prevent young people from using tobacco and to assist adult smokers in quitting.
To ensure we are providing an effective program, oversight is provided by a community coalition made up of representatives of diverse groups.
