Getting a cancer diagnosis is some of the worst news anyone can receive. Marla Mills-Wilson of Youngsville knows a lot about it.
She lost her mother eight years ago to pancreatic cancer. Both her grandmothers also faced cancer battles. Now at age 54, she's a little over a year into her own fight with the big C.
Her family history isn't how she found out about her diagnosis. It was a trip to urgent care, then another to the ER that sent her down the path of testing and treatment.
Cases like Mills-Wilson's are a big reason why researchers at UNC are searching for people to sign up for a study that will examine a new method to detect 10 kinds of cancer at once.
The Vanguard Study is evaluating a newer screening technology known as multi-cancer detection assays, or MCDs.
It is one simple blood test that looks for bladder, breast, colorectal, esophageal, stomach, liver, lung, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate cancer.
UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center is the only location in North Carolina working to compile this data for the National Cancer Center Institute.
As highlighted in the following TV story produced by WRAL-TV, Mills-Wilson is encouraging other North Carolinians to consider taking part in research that could help change how cancers like hers are detected.
UNC researchers are seeking adults between 45 and 75 years old who have not had a cancer diagnosis within the past five years.
