"Connie Orr of Novi has signed up for the Sister Study, a breast cancer project that is tracking the sisters of breast cancer patients and survivors. The national study needs more women of color to help find out what causes breast cancer and how it varies among women of different ethnic backgrounds."

"Ursula Powell of Rochester is involving family in the study. From left: Cheryl Powell, 55, Pontiac; Madysen Brooklee, 7, Waterford; Cassandra Allen-Jackson, 49, Ohio; Betty Allen, 46, Pontiac; Tamara Jackson, 43, Waterford; Powell; Jordan Wilson, 5, and Kendel Wilson, 7, Lapeer; Arletta Dilworth, 53, Waterford."

"Connie Orr (left), of Novi is very close to her sister Sherrill Jackson, 60, of St. Louis. Jackson is a 15-year breast cancer survivor."

"? The Sister Study -- a long-term breast cancer study conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is focused on women whose sisters have or have had breast cancer. This is the final year for recruiting participants; the study still needs about 11,000 more women. Women of color and those ages 65-74 are especially needed."

"? Researchers plan to track the women for at least 10 years, studying how environmental and genetic factors contribute to breast cancer. Women will be asked to answer questions about their health through phone interviews every two years and undergo a physical when they sign up."

" White women are more likely to get breast cancer. African-American women are more likely to die from it. Asian, Hispanic and American-Indian women have a lower risk."

" Women using birth control pills may have a higher risk; women who stopped using the pills more than 10 years ago do not seem to have any increased risk."

" Women who have 2 to 5 drinks daily have 1 1/2 times the risk of breast cancer as women who drink no alcohol."

"When the two were young, Sherrill Jackson would walk little Connie to class, bring her along on dates to the drive-in and let her tag along to sleepovers at friends' houses."

"Jackson, 60, a 15-year breast cancer survivor and pediatric nurse practitioner in St. Louis, fought it head-on and now leads a 75-member breast cancer support group. Orr, 56, of Novi, is fighting the disease in a different way: She signed up to take part in the Sister Study, a national look at the sisters of women who have or have had breast cancer."

"She's among 39,000 women who have signed up so far and one of 2,324 African Americans enrolled in the study. As the study enters its final months of recruitment, getting more women of color like Orr to participate is key."

"The study's aim? Find out what causes breast cancer -- and how it varies among women of different ethnic backgrounds."

"Nearly 180,000 women annually in the United States are diagnosed with breast cancer and 41,000 die from it."

"As part of the 10-year-long study, Orr will answers questions every other year about her health and habits. She already filled out questionnaires when she signed up last year and has had a health professional visit her home to give her a physical."

"Signing up for the study was a simple yet significant way Orr felt she could help."

""You may think you understand ... but you can't reach out to them like another survivor can," says Orr. "The Sister Study is the only meaningful thing I can do to help. I feel, in some ways, I've helped all women.""

"But in order to better understand how a woman's habits, environment and genetics contribute to her risk for breast cancer, researchers need more women like Orr to step forward."

"With five months left for recruiting, the study is 11,000 women short of its goal of 50,000 participants."

"More troubling to researchers is that only 12% of the 39,000 women recruited so far are minorities, 214 from Michigan."

""We really want the study to be representative of the women in the United States," says Lisa DeRoo, an epidemiologist for the Sister Study. "We do know that the incidence of the disease and survival rates vary from group to group. ... Part of the reason why it's so important to recruit a diverse group of women is that we want the results to benefit the different women across the United States.""

"African Americans, for example, are less likely than white women to get breast cancer, but they are more likely to die from it. Some studies suggest that this is because black women are more likely to be diagnosed when their tumors are more advanced."

"Getting the word out about the study has been challenging. Too often cultural inhibitions and language barriers prevent many women from learning about their cancer risk or from participating in projects like the Sister Study."

"Recruiters at the national level have mostly relied on cancer registries in each state to reach
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