September 2000

 

 Human Research Gives Clues For Promoting Health
Lynda Zimmerman, zimmermanl@missouri.edu

Experiments in laboratories can take us only so far in discovering ways to prevent cancer. Human clinical trials provide an opportunity to test the most promising cancer prevention approaches on people.

What is it like to participate as a human guinea pig in a research project? Sharon Slaughter, a Denver artist and breast cancer survivor, took part in a study at the AMC Cancer Research Center in Lakewood, Colorado.

The ongoing study is designed to determine whether breast cancer protection in survivors is improved by increasing fruit and vegetable consumption to as high as 10 or more servings per day. The American Institute for Cancer Research recently interviewed Sharon about her experience.

How did you get involved? When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I kept asking what I could do, and during a visit to my oncologist, he let me know about the fruit and vegetable study. I contacted the researchers right away to volunteer.

Tell us about the study.

I was involved in two study groups. In the first I ate 10 to 14 servings of fruits and vegetables a day for two weeks, and in the second I followed a meal plan that included three to four servings of fruits and vegetables for two weeks.

At my first meeting, I met the research team and the other participants and completed a survey of my regular eating habits. At the next meeting the research team collected blood and urine samples to analyze for levels of cancer markers. Then we got the menus and recipes. We met each week to discuss our progress, and on the last day we gave samples again for analysis. This was repeated for the second part of the study.

How did you manage eating 10 or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day?

You have to really think about what you're eating to eat 10 or more servings of fruits and vegetables, but the study shows you can do it. Although my husband wasn't in the study, he participated along with me and liked it.

It was interesting that when we switched to the meal plan with only three to four servings of fruits and vegetables, everybody missed them. It made us appreciate them more when we couldn't have them.

Did you learn the results of the study?

Several months after the end of each two-week test period, we got information about the changes in levels of cancer markers for the group as a whole. The results showed that with the high fruit and vegetable meal plan, we had reduced the level of cancer causing factors in our blood and that was great!

If you would like information and helpful tips on how to increase your intake of fruits and vegetables, send a note to me via e-mail or U.S. mail.

Source: The American Institute for Cancer Research Newsletter, Summer 2000.

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