Strong was a downwinder and is particularly curious about possible environmental factors, since her sister's breast cancer is not one thought to be highly hereditary, she says. She and her six sisters grew up on a farm in Utah's southwest corner, where their dad operated a power plant. As children, they'd stand outside and watch Nevada's mushroom clouds form.

Strong is proactive about breast cancer in another way. Her birthday gift to herself each year is a mammogram.

Sister Study participation also includes a long phone interview early on, broken into two sessions, providing details about your life — the jobs you had, the places you lived, the products used in your home. A separate written questionnaire takes about 90 minutes and adds details, such as what foods you eat and what medicines you take.

"They asked me about when I was 7 and when I was 20" and the subsequent adult years, Strong says. "I thought what a good life history that was for me, so I asked for a copy."

The study plans to stay in touch with participants for a decade, usually a few minutes a year to update information and learn about important health changes. Every couple of years, participants will be asked to spend about an hour answering more questions.

Analysis is ongoing. First, Juras said, the scientists hope to look at the relationships between suspected risk factors for breast cancer. As data comes in, it will likely spark other areas that can be explored.

The researchers hope for a diverse group of women. "Most of what we know about breast cancer risk involves middle-aged white women," Juras says. However, she adds, "We know the incidence and survival stats are different for different groups of women — different races and ethnicities, different jobs, different parts of the country."

Sister Study partners include the American Cancer Society, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Sisters Network Inc., the Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization and the Intercultural Cancer Council.

For more information, visit www.sisterstudy.org or call the hotline, 1-877-474-7837. Deaf or hard of hearing people may call TTY 1-866-889-4747.

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E-mail: lois@desnews.com