Attach 15 - Letter of Introduction-PopContr

Attachment # 15: Introductory Letter for Potential Population-Based Controls- all groups

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Dear Mr. ,

The University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Baltimore, and the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, are conducting a large research study of cancer in Maryland. We hope that in the future, knowledge gained from this study will help to diagnose cancer at early stages, or possibly lead to ways to prevent them.

The purpose of the Maryland Cancer Study is to study genes and genetic markers that are associated with cancer, to find out why some people get cancer while other do not. To do this, we need to study some people who currently have cancer, and some people who do not have cancer.

We would like to request your participation! You were chosen through a random selection of Maryland residents. Your participation will be valuable to us. We hope that you are willing to help.

To participate, one of our specially trained medical interviewers will call you on the telephone. He or she will ask to make only one appointment with you to:

1. conduct an interview with you and give you a questionnaire to complete. The interview will require

an hour of your time.

2) to take a small sample of blood

3) to collect a urine sample

In the interview you will be asked questions about:

• your residential history

• your medical, family medical, and sexual history (if applicable)

• the type of work that you have done

• your diet, tobacco and alcohol use if relevant

The interview can take place in the privacy of your own home, at our private office at the University of Maryland (parking fee will be provided), or at another place of your choice. The person who conducts the interview will also draw the blood sample and give you a bottle to use to collect the urine. You will be paid $50.00 compensation for time and effort involved in participating in the study.

The information about you and from the samples that you provide will be kept confidential. The information will never be used in any way that would identify you by name. Participation in this study is entirely voluntary, and you are free to withdraw from the study at any time. If you decide not to participate, it will not in any way affect your current or future medical care.

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Thank you for considering participation in this project. If you have any questions, or if you have an unpublished telephone number or do not have a telephone, please call Ms. Donna Perlmutter in the Maryland Lung Cancer Study Office collect at (410) 706-5129. We hope that you will agree to work with us on this important project to prevent lung cancer and improve early diagnosis of cancer.

Sincerely,

Dean L. Mann, MD

Professor, Department of Pathology