Residents of Shorewood, Rockdale or Joliet who have never been diagnosed with cancer could be candidates for an area behavior study launched by the American Cancer Society.

Rita Gunther, a Shorewood resident whose mother and sister were diagnosed with cancer, is volunteering with the American Cancer Society (ACS) to help find area residents who might want to volunteer for the Cancer Prevention Study 3 (CPS-3).

The 20-year report will track the behavior of people in the study.

“The study is hoping to find a correlation to people who have been diagnosed,” said Gunther, “It will look at their lifestyle and behavior habits.”

Those interested in signing up for the CPS-3 study may do so from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday, June 12, at the 2010 Joliet Relay For Life at Joliet West High School.

The ACS is looking for 180 people between the ages of 30 and 65 who have never been diagnosed with cancer.

Those interested in participating in the study will have their blood drawn and their waists measured, and will be asked to fill out a questionnaire regarding their age and behavior al habits.

If accepted into the program, study participants will be asked to commit to filling out a survey that will be mailed to them every two years for the next 20 years.

The study will look at participants’ behavior characteristics, such as sleep patterns, eating habits and prescribed medications.

“The goal of the study is to get a better grasp on what is causing cancer,” said Kelly Castaneda, a spokeswoman for the ACS. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for people to give back in the fight against cancer.”

New study sites rotate each year. Joliet, Shorewood and Rockdale were selected because of the diversity of the communities.

Castaneda said the area has a high demographic in both the race and age category.

The cancer society will also be enrolling volunteers for the study June 12 in the Downers Grove area.

Enrollment for the study was held in Naperville last year and in Elmhurst in 2008.

The ACS has established enrollment sites across the United States, with the goal of enrolling 500,000 people. Currently, about 70,000 people are taking part in the study.

New volunteers are needed each year as older volunteers phase out of the study.

The CPS-3 study comes on the heels of two earlier studies.

Subjects were enrolled in CPS-1 from 1959 through 1960. Data tracked from that study through 1972 revealed a correlation between cancer and smoking.

A second study, launched in 1982, revealed a link between second-hand smoke and cancer.

The CPS-3 study, started in 2006, will examine possible correlations between lifestyle and behavior patterns and cancer.