YBCSS

Young Breast Cancer Survivor Study

If you are a woman living in South Carolina who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 50 years, you may be eligible to participate.

Participation in the study consists of donating a fecal sample and completing online questionnaires related to diet, lifestyle, mental wellness, and breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. We also will request permission to obtain information from medical records related to your cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Learn More

Study Background

  • While breast cancer diagnosed younger than age 50 is a relatively rare disease, the rate of new cancer cases and death rates in this age group have been increasing recently.
  • Screening guidelines typically do not cover younger patients, so early-onset breast cancer patients are more likely to present at an advanced stage.
  • However, higher stage at diagnosis does not completely explain increasing mortality rates.
  • Thus, we are conducting a study to address the gaps in knowledge regarding the impact of diet, gut microbiome, life experiences, cancer treatments, and comorbidities on quality of life faced by early-age-at-onset survivors.
  • Understanding what drives increased mortality rates, we will be better able to formulate plans of mitigation.

Participate

Participation in the study consists of donating a fecal sample and completing online questionnaires related to diet, lifestyle, mental wellness, and breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. We also will request permission to obtain information from medical records related to your cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Eligibility

If you are a woman living in South Carolina who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 50 years, you may be eligible to participate.

Eligibility criteria includes:

  • Non-institutionalized, English-literate, female breast cancer survivors living in South Carolina
  • Previous diagnosis of breast cancer within the past 6 to 9 months
  • Must have been younger than 50 years at the time of diagnosis

Participation

If you are eligible for the study, we will schedule a phone call for our study coordinator to describe the study, confirm eligibility, and review the next steps:

  1. We will mail you a stool collection kit. You will complete the stool collection and return it to USC in a prepaid envelope.
  2. We will provide you with a web link to complete the questionnaires related to lifestyle, mental wellness, and breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, and a separate web link and login information to complete the diet questionnaire.
  3. Participants will receive up to $50 in electronic gift cards in appreciation for their time.

Frequently Asked Questions

How old do I have to be to participate?

To qualify for this study, you must have been diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 50 and within the past 6 to 9 months.

Can I withdraw from the study at any time?

Yes.

If I withdraw from the study, can I still receive a gift card?

Yes, participants who withdraw after partially completing the study assessment will receive partial compensation accordingly. Participants who complete the online questionnaires only will receive a $25 electronic gift card. Participants who complete the stool collection only will receive a $25 electronic gift card.

How long will the online questionnaires take?

There will be 3 sets of online questionnaires. The lifestyle and breast cancer questionnaire will take around 20 minutes. The mental health and stress questionnaire will take around 30 minutes. The diet questionnaire will take around 45 minutes. In total, the whole study will take around 1.5 hours. You may stop at any time and save your results to come back and finish the questionnaires later.

How do I access the questionnaires?

Our study coordinator will email the links to the online questionnaires to you.

Please reach out to Dr. Susan Steck at stecks@mailbox.sc.edu with any additional questions. Thank you for your interest in our study!

Contact Information

Study Principal Investigator

Dr. Susan Steck, PhD, MPH, RD
Professor of Epidemiology
Arnold School of Public Health
University of South Carolina

stecks@mailbox.sc.edu
803-777-1527