Dal Richards among 500 ‘super seniors’ taking part in a health study
Posted March 12, 2015 8:05 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Legendary local band leader Dal Richards is their poster boy!
A study of “super seniors” in Vancouver is looking at why some people who live into their 80s, 90s and 100s remain extremely healthy and cancer-free.
Richards is 97 and he has been entertaining people for more than 80 years as a much-loved big band leader. He has no plans to tone down his schedule.
“I walk a mile every day. I think my love of music and travel, as well as the fun of leading the band and entertaining audiences, keeps me healthy,” he says.
Richards is one of 500 seniors taking part in the study, led by researchers at the BC Cancer Agency and Simon Fraser University.
“Both my younger brother and sister died from cancer,” he says. “And I’m hopeful that this study will find clues into why people like me don’t get cancer.”
The super seniors taking part are aged 85 to 109 and have never been diagnosed with cancer, cardiovascular disease or stroke, dementia, major lung disease, or diabetes. Their medical, family and lifestyle information is being studied along with their physical and mental health.
“It appears that some of these amazingly healthy super seniors, who are still active and busy at an advanced age, could be genetically protected from cancer-causing mutations,” says the study’s lead investigator Dr. Angela Brooks-Wilson.
“There is also lots of evidence from other studies that lifestyle behaviours, such as not smoking, eating a balanced diet, cutting down on alcohol and getting regular exercise, play a huge role in not getting cancer.”
The ultimate goal is to identify whatever seems to be overriding cancer-causing gene sequences in the super seniors, which could lead to the development of new anti-cancer drugs.
It’s possible that such drugs, combined with a healthy lifestyle, could help other people to have a lower risk of getting cancer.
