SAN FRANCISCO –The WISDOM Study, a groundbreaking effort to determine the optimal guidelines for breast cancer screening, expands recruitment today with a drive to enroll 100,000 women who want to improve breast health for generations of women to come.
The study, led by Dr. Laura Esserman of the University of California, San Francisco, will follow volunteers over time to determine whether a personalized risk-based approach to breast cancer screening can improve prevention and clinical outcomes for women when compared to the current, one-size-fits-all approach to screening. Participation is convenient, entirely online, and free of charge.
Giving Tuesday is a perfect opportunity to provide your support in the movement to improve breast cancer screening and prevention. With your participation, researchers will gather the information needed to improve breast screening for you, your sisters, daughters and friends.
“We still don’t know whether annual mammogram screenings are the best way to detect breast cancer,” said Dr. Esserman, Director of the Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center at UC, San Francisco. “This study will answer those questions and hopefully lead to better screening and prevention of breast cancer for all women. By participating in the study women in California can ‘pay it forward,’ adding to our knowledge and improving breast screening recommendations for each individual woman.”
Participation in The WISDOM Study is free, and open to all women ages 40-74 who HAVE NOT been diagnosed with breast cancer. You may opt to be assigned at random to one of the study groups, or choose your study group, based on the options below:
Annual mammogram screenings at convenient health care providers.
Personalized mammogram screenings based on factors including family history, genetics, lifestyle, and environment.
Over the course of the study, doctors will compare the two groups and determine if a personalized screening protocol can improve breast health outcomes for all women.
Nationally, charities raise more than $400 million online on Giving Tuesday, celebrated the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. This year, The WISDOM Study is joining in on this increasingly popular event, asking you to give back by participating in this critical research.
“Participating in WISDOM is a way to show respect for anyone in your life who has suffered from breast cancer, whether your mother, a beloved relative or a friend,” said Matthew A. Michela, CEO of Life Image. “It is a priceless gift that doesn’t cost a dime.”
Life Image is the world’s largest medical imaging network. It is supporting The WISDOM Study with Mammosphere, an electronic personal health tool that enables women to securely request, store, and share their breast health history (including images) with The Study or their healthcare provider.
To learn more about The WISDOM Study, or sign up, please visit www.wisdomstudy.org.
About The WISDOM Study
WISDOM is a five-year longitudinal study that compares two different approaches to breast cancer screening – annual mammography vs. a personalized, risk-based approach. The goal of the study is to determine whether personalized screening is more effective than annual screening. The personalized screening approach will take multiple risk factors into consideration, including genetic markers, to determine the most effective screening frequency and modality for an individual. Over time, we can learn which risk factors are most important and continue to improve our screening recommendations accordingly. To learn more and enroll, visit www.wisdomstudy.org and follow our progress on Twitter, and Facebook.
About Life Image
Life Image is the world’s largest medical evidence network providing access to points of care and curated clinical and imaging data. It is the only company in the market today with Real World Imaging™ that provides large-scale, heterogeneous, de-identified imaging sets that are linkable to other longitudinal data. Founded in 2008, Life Image has created a digital platform using industry-leading interoperability standards to connect 10,000 facilities with more than 150,000 U.S. providers and 58,000 global clinics. Its network of hospitals, physicians, patients, life sciences, medical devices and telehealth is interconnected with a technical ecosystem of EHRs, PACS, AI solutions, cloud environments and analytics platforms. For more information about Life Image, please visit www.lifeimage.com, visit its blog and follow the company on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About Mammosphere
Mammosphere is a patient engagement platform that empowers women to take control of their breast health. It allows patients to store all their breast health information and mammograms in one secure, online location. This saves the patient time, money and unnecessary stress while allowing physicians easy access to critical clinical information. Mammosphere is powered by Life Image, the leading medical information network in the country. Learn more at mammosphere.com