Contributed photo From left, ACS Director Natalie Edwards, Scotland County Relay for Life Co-Chair Stewart Thomas, and Relay of Robeson Co-Chair Robin Jones prior to a survey information session this week.

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The American Cancer Society will be in town next month to give local residents a new way to fight back against cancer.

The American Cancer Society is enlisting volunteers nationwide to take part in Cancer Prevention Study 3, or CPS-3, a study to determine what lifestyle choices lead to cancer.

The study will track 300,000 people nationwide, including 7,500 in North Carolina. With 125 volunteers from Scotland and Robeson counties registered, the ACS is on target to reach its goal of 350.

“Our goal is to find our what lifestyle, environmental, and genetic factors are causing cancer,” said Rachel Urban, American Cancer Society mission delivery manager for Southeastern North Carolina. “It’s nationwide, but we’ve honed in on Robeson and Scotland County as huge supporters of our research and people who will go above and beyond.”

The study is accepting volunteers between the ages of 30 and 65 who have never been diagnosed with cancer. Initial assessments for Scotland County volunteers will be held on March 28 from 2-6:30 p.m. at Scotland Place Civic Center.

The initial appointment will last for approximately 20 minutes, when participants will be asked to fill out a confidential survey about their lifestyle and nutritional habits, take a waist measurement over their clothing, and have a small amount of blood drawn by an American Cancer Society epidemiology team.

That first appointment will be the only in-person meeting between participants and study staff. Following that assessment, participants will be asked to fill out a mailed questionnaire every two to three years for 15-20 years.

Aside from the age limitation, the study will make use of participants encompassing every race, lifestyle, and demographic to draw correlations between those factors and an individual’s likelihood of developing cancer.

“We want men, we want women, we really need participants to encompass everybody who gets cancer - that’s every demographic, every race, every ethnicity,” Urban said. “We’re hoping to find information about every single type of cancer. This is research that our children and grandchildren will really benefit from.”

Those interested in participating can schedule an appointment for that day at www.cps3robesonscotland.org. Appointments should be made by March 20, but walk-ins will be accepted on March 28.