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The Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow's Health, or The Atlantic Path as we’re commonly called, is part of the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow Project, the largest study of its kind ever undertaken in Canada. This $42-million national study is investigating how genetics, the environment, lifestyle, and behaviour contribute to the development of cancer. The study will follow the health of 300,000 people in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada for 30 years.
Here on the East Coast, The Atlantic Path is recruiting 30,000 men and women aged 35 to 69 from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. Study volunteers will visit one of our Assessment Centres where they will be asked questions about their health, diet and lifestyle.
They will also provide blood, urine, saliva, and toenail samples and have some standard physical measurements taken. Researchers will then follow their health for up to 30 years through hospitalization records, health-related databases, and cancer registries.
This research is particularly important for Atlantic Canada, which has the highest rates of cancer in the country. Every year, more than 13,400 Atlantic Canadians are diagnosed with cancer and 6300 die as a result. The disease truly does touch everyone living in this region, either personally or through family and friends. The Atlantic Path will help researchers find out why some people develop cancer and others don't, so that we can find new ways of preventing this disease. It will also help us find new ways to diagnose cancer earlier, when it can be easier to treat. |
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