Georgia Cancer Study
 Finding the Cause
  Finding the Cure

March 30, 2009

Dear Participants,

This letter is to thank you once again for your participation in the Georgia Cancer Study (GCS) and to let you know that there will be temporary changes in how the study will be conducted. 

The funding for the Georgia Cancer Study is from the Georgia Cancer Coalition, which receives part of the state of Georgia’s share of the national tobacco settlement funds.  Because of the national economic crisis, Georgia is facing a large budget deficit and must use the money originally slotted for the Georgia Cancer Study to help cover that deficit.  Because of this, the Georgia Cancer Study will not be able to operate at full capacity for a while.  This means that until the economic crisis is over, we will not recruit new participants to the study and we will not be able to send you regular newsletters, follow-up questionnaires, birthday cards, or other correspondence.  However, during this time, the study will remain open, and you will still be able to contact us.  We encourage you to notify us if you move, change your mailing address, phone number(s), or e-mail address.  We also encourage you to notify us if you! get diagnosed with cancer.  As always, any information you provide us with will remain confidential.

We remind you that participation in the study is voluntary and if you have any questions, please contact us at 877-7-ASKGCS (877-727-5427) or e-mail us at GCS@sph.emory.edu.  For news or other information about the study, please visit our website:  GeorgiaCancerStudy.org.  We will inform you by letter as soon as the study returns to its full level of operation.

We continue to be excited about the Georgia Cancer Study.  We appreciate your patience during these difficult economic times and remain grateful to you for helping our effort to understand the causes of cancer and how to prevent it. 

Sincerely,

Roberd M. Bostick, MD, MPH

Principal Investigator, the Georgia Cancer Study
Professor of Epidemiology
Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Scholar
Emory University