Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Like many women, Dr. Susan Love was becoming increasingly frustrated by our not having made more progress in figuring out what causes breast cancer and how to prevent it. Scientists told her that they did not know how to find the women who would be interested in taking part in the studies that were needed to end this disease. Dr. Love realized the problem wasn’t that women didn’t want to participate in these studies, but that they didn’t know that they were needed. In short order, the idea was born of an Army of Women ready to serve science.

The Avon Foundation for Women, a leader in the breast cancer cause, is one of the largest private funders of breast cancer research. As a result, they are well aware of how difficult it can be for researchers to find the volunteers they need for their studies. They immediately recognized the need for the Army of Women and partnered with the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation to make it happen.

We feel that we need to move the search for the cause of breast cancer to a new level, one that will take a lot of women to participate. The word Army, which means a large group of people united for a specific purpose, quickly and clearly describes who we are. The image of us all joining in a virtual Army to get this done is a powerful one.

You should sign up for your sister, mother, daughter, granddaughter, best friend, and the woman you met last week. Breast cancer has been around for decades, but it does not have to be our future. We can be the generation that stops breast cancer once and for all by figuring out what causes this disease and how to prevent it! This is YOUR chance to be part of the research that will end breast cancer.

Yes, in fact we strongly encourage male breast cancer survivors and men who have immediate relatives who’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer to sign up as part of the Army of Women.

Yes, women from all over the world are welcome to sign up and be part of the Army of Women.

Women who are interested register on the Love/Avon Army of Women website, providing very basic information such as name, age, city, and state of residence. You will receive email updates from the Love/Avon Army of Women announcing new research studies looking for volunteers just like you. The email will detail the research project and who and what the researchers need. If you fit the criteria and you’d like to participate, all you need to do is click “Yes Sign Me Up”, this lets us know you’ve accepted our “Call to Action”. From there, you will be asked to log-in to your account and then directed to the next steps. If you accept the Call to Action by clicking “Yes, Sign Me Up”, you will be asked a couple of screening questions to make sure you qualify for the study. Once we confirm your qualification for the specific study, your information will be given to the researcher conducting the study and you will be contacted by the researcher for a secondary screening to make sure you meet the study criteria and answer any questions you might have about study participation. You will never be pressured to take part in any study. The decision to take part is yours — and yours alone. If you meet the study criteria as determined by the researcher and are interested in taking part, the study researcher will let you know what you need to do next.

There are many different types of studies. Some might require you to complete a questionnaire, while others might need a sample of blood, urine, saliva, breast fluid, or breast tissue. Some studies might be clinical trials testing a new detection marker or drug. You decide which studies you want to take part in.

Some researchers will be able to collect the information and samples they need themselves, but others may not. The Army of Women is establishing centers nationwide where volunteers can go to give the blood, fluid, or tissue sample a researcher may need. This will make it easier for you to take part and help scientists get a more diverse population of volunteers more quickly.

Breast cancer research is often focused on killing the tumor cells. Much less attention is paid to how cancer starts and how to prevent it. Furthermore, most prevention research has been conducted in the lab — on cell lines and mice. The Army of Women will focus new attention on the need to unlock the key to what causes breast cancer by having women partner with scientists.

Most basic research in breast cancer has been done in the laboratory and on animals, or with samples collected and stored from women with breast cancer. Researchers use animals and samples from a “tissue bank” because they don’t have ready access to healthy women. But what we learn from animals doesn’t always translate into how cancer develops in women, and tissue only from women with cancer may not help solve the puzzle of what caused the cancer. The Army of Women will allow researchers to conduct a wider array of studies and to solve the puzzle as to how breast cancer starts and how to stop it in women!

Scientists work in a research laboratory, not in a clinical setting. As a result, it is very hard and time consuming for them to recruit women for their research studies, and this can delay the start or progress of their work. The Army of Women removes this barrier by providing scientists with an easy and direct way to find the volunteers they need for their studies.

It is critical that the Army of Women represent all kinds of women of all sizes, shapes, ages, ethnicities, lifestyles, and geographic areas. This is the only way we will truly learn about this disease. We depend on our Army of Women participants to help us recruit a wide diversity of women so that the data from the studies will apply to all of us.

Yes. Women with breast cancer can join the Army of Women, as can women who have never had breast cancer. We need all women to participate.

It depends on the type of study. Studies may need women who will:

• Complete a questionnaire.
• Donate blood—this would typically involve having a blood sample taken from a vein in your arm.
• Donate urine, saliva, or even toenail clippings.
• Donate urine—this would involve collecting a small sample at a clinical laboratory.
• Donate a small sample of breast tissue—this would typically involve having a core needle biopsy done under local anesthesia as an outpatient. Your breast will look exactly the same as it did before the tissue was removed.
• Donate breast fluid—this would be done with a breast pump. You would be asked to massage your breast and squeeze your nipple prior to the pump being placed on your nipple. The procedure usually takes 1-15 minutes per breast.
• Donate breast fluid obtained through ductoscopy and/or ductal lavage. This procedure obtains fluid from the breast by washing out the breast ducts. You can learn more about ductal lavage and ductoscopy here.

When it comes to medical research, blood, urine, breast fluid and breast tissue are all considered “tissue.” Scientists use this type of tissue for a wide range of medical research studies. You can learn more about providing tissue for medical research here.

Scientists must apply to the Army of Women for the opportunity to recruit volunteers for their research. Every study undergoes a scientific, safety, and ethical review.

The Army of Women staff will ensure that your contact information remains confidential. All researchers who recruit from the Army of Women agree to follow the strict confidentiality guidelines enforced nationwide by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

No. Not all studies will require laboratory tests. If they are required for a particular study they will be paid for by the researcher conducting the study.

Virtually all of the research studies you will be asked to sign up for do not require your health care provider or insurer to have any knowledge of your participation. This means your insurer does not need to approve your involvement. Furthermore, your insurer will not be given any information about any findings that come from a study in which you were involved. Obviously , you are welcome to let your physician know that you have participated.

Every time a new study becomes available, we will notify all Army of Women members about the researcher’s needs. Some researchers may have specific needs. For example, they may be studying only premenopausal women or only postmenopausal women. Others may only need women who have not had children. Some studies may need people in a particular geographic area. As a result, you might receive several emails before you find a study that interests you and for which you qualify.

You are in control and are able to determine which, if any, research studies you would like to be involved in. You will never be asked to leave the Army of Women because you have not yet participated in a research study.

Yes. We will provide you with a way to forward the emails to friends or family members you think might be interested in joining the Army of Women and taking part in a specific research study. We depend on you to help us get the job done. Please spread the word!

Yes. The Army of Women is a true partnership between women and scientists. All of the scientists who are recruiting women through the Army of Women will participate in our “virtual” Town Hall on our website, where they will provide blog postings about the progress they are making on their studies and the new things they are learning. We will also have regular webcasts, which will allow scientists to provide updates and Army of Women volunteers to ask questions in real time.

One can never predict scientific discovery, but the better tools researchers have, the better they are able to investigate novel and important new research. This is the first time anyone has ever attempted to recruit one million women for research. There is no question that the Army of Women will encourage researchers to design new studies and to actively use the women the Army of Women recruits in their own research. We might acquire new information that changes our understanding of breast cancer next week, or next year. But what we do know is that the Army of Women will accelerate the process. We are in a hurry to stop breast cancer now!

The pendant, as a whole, signifies a healthy breast. The center of the pendant symbolizes the ONE RESEARCH GOAL to eradicate breast cancer. Finally, the swirl leading to the center represents the path that ONE MILLION WOMEN will follow together, unlocking the key to what causes breast cancer.