Prostate Cancer

About three months later, they will receive a comprehensive report they can share with their physician.

If a major medical problem is spotted during the exam, they immediately will be sent to a hospital or doctor.

Participants will be compensated for time and travel, and all results are kept confidential, Martinello stressed.

"People can participate anonymously," she said.

Each study participant represents about 25,000 similar people from across the United States.

Study data, which is published about two years after it is collected, will look at national trends only; it will not be used to provide a snapshot of health conditions in Monroe County.

Funding for the study is provided by those who use the data, a list that ranges from the American Medical and Dental associations to the garment and airline industries.

In the past, statistics are responsible for everything from the growth charts in pediatricians' offices to government rules mandating iron supplementation in grain products.

"We're really hoping we get embraced and welcomed into the community," Martinello said.

"And, so far, indications are that that's going to happen.

There's a lot of interest, and that's always a good thing for us." (For more information, call the Waterloo survey office at 939-5415 or go to the Web site at www.cdc.gov/nhanes.) Contact reporter Roger Schlueter at 239-246...

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