volunteer for the army of pink.

Breast cancer research is looking for a few good women.

OK, actually, they're looking for a million good-hearted, well-intentioned women who are worn down from watching their sisters being forced to become survivors － or not.

Join the Army of Women － an innovative initiative to recruit one million healthy women of all ages and ethnicities, including breast cancer survivors and women at high risk for the disease, to participate in research to identify and eradicate the cause(s) of breast cancer.

Clearly, finding a cure is critical. But the Army of Women seeks to go beyond a cure to find a way to prevent this devastating disease from claiming any more of us.

How it works: You register on the Army of Women website, and staff will notify you by email about research study opportunities. If you fit the criteria for a study and you're ok with what's involved in it, then you reply via email to volunteer to participate. Staff will respond with what you should do to take part.

You're in control: The whole thing is completely voluntary. You never have to volunteer for a study if you decide you don't want to.

What it takes: Every study's different － some might require you to complete a questionnaire, others might require a sample of blood, urine, saliva, or breast fluid or breast tissue, still others may be clinical trials for a new detection marker or drug. You choose which studies you feel comfortable with.

Why it's vital: Today, most research is being done using either animals or women who already have breast cancer. But what's learned from animals doesn't necessarily translate to humans, and what's gleaned from tissue from women with breast cancer might not help pinpoint the cause of the cancer. The Army of Women will give researchers the chance to study how breast cancer begins and how to stop it.

Further information about the project can be found at the Army of Women website. You can register here － I'm already there.

The saints are marching in, and the saints are us. Don't you want to be in that number? Please join the Army of Women today.