Forsyth County Family YMCA will serve as an enrollment site for a large-scale cancer study.

Representatives of the American Cancer Society announced this week that the local YMCA is one of 21 enrollment sites in metro Atlanta for the Cancer Prevention Study 3, or CPS-3.

The study will follow enrollees for 20 to 30 years to help researchers better understand the lifestyle, environmental and genetic factors that cause or prevent cancer.

The society hopes to enroll 5,000 residents of the metro Atlanta area and 300,000 people across the United States and Puerto Rico in the study.

The metro Atlanta enrollment will be the largest in the nation.

About 130 people in Forsyth County signed up for the study during the local Relay for Life fundraising event in May at the Cumming Fairgrounds.

Men and women between the ages of 30 and 65 who have never been diagnosed with cancer are urged to participate in study.

Those from Forsyth and surrounding counties are asked to visit the local YMCA site between 8 a.m. and noon March 12 and 3 and 7 p.m. March 13.

Other metro Atlanta enrollment sites will be offered in Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett and Newton counties.

Randy Redner, American Cancer Society’s vice president for Georgia, said study organizers hope to make the enrollment process convenient.

“By partnering with the YMCA and providing 21 locations for CPS-3 enrollment, we are making it as easy as possible for Atlanta residents to take part in this life-changing study,” he said in a statement.

“By taking a little time to enroll in CPS-3, we all have the ability to contribute to the knowledge bank on the causes of cancer and to help develop new ways to prevent, detect and treat cancer to save more lives. And make no mistake, when you enroll in CPS-3, you will indeed save lives for your children’s and your grandchildren’s generations and beyond.”

There is no cost to enroll. Participates are asked to read and sign and informed consent form and complete a survey packet with information on lifestyle, behavorial and other factors related to their health.

They will also be asked to have their waist circumference measured and give a small blood sample.

The in-person enrollment takes about an hour to complete.

Then the society will send periodic follow-up surveys every few years to update information and annual newsletters with study updates and results.

CPS-3 is the third long-term American Cancer Society study. The first discovered a link between smoking and cancer, while the second found ties to obesity.