Cancer Diary: Clinical Trials
(photo from Wikipedia) When traditional treatments are not working, cancer patients may want to participate in clinical trials. We did not have the time to arrange for something like that -- Carl was diagnosed very late and endured a very short time. When the cancer became quite out of hand after just three rounds of chemotherapy, the oncologist offered to "look for" a clinical trial, if we wanted one. Of course, that did not work out because Carl died just three weeks later. However, the suggestion got us thinking. What would be involved in being in a clinical trial and in finding one? What would be the pros and cons? With subsequent research, which we would not have had time to do on our own, given the speed of Carl's demise, I learned some interesting things. On the positive side, clinical trials may provide access to treatments and drugs not yet in (wide) use and will almost certainly provide personalized attention. On the negative side, there is no guarantee that