Future Goals

Even though the first five years of this study will focus on questions regarding breast density and breast cancer, this study will serve as a resource for years to come. As science and technology change, so will the questions.

Some questions we hope to address in the second five-year period of this study include:

• Are there proteins in the blood that can identify women at high risk of breast cancer?
• Are calcifications on the mammogram associated with heart disease?
• Do herbal supplements reduce the risk of some cancers?
• Does diet after diagnosis affect breast cancer recurrence and survival?

We also hope to collect additional information from our participants over the second phase of the study, such as questions on diet or changes in health. In this manner, we will keep our data current and enable more precise answers to our research questions.

Enrolling a large group of women and following them for cancer outcomes will enable researchers to study, and hopefully identify, factors associated with several other cancers and diseases in addition to breast cancer.

Benefits of the study

Women participating in this study are contributing to breast cancer research and improving women's health in the future.

In creating this large resource, researchers hope to find answers that will assist in future prevention and treatment of breast cancer.