Nobody can advice or suggest you or anybody for that matter, to opt for cancer treatment clinical trials. It is you, who with the help of your doctor and family members are the right person and in the best position to decide whether a clinical trial is right for you.
It is important that you try to learn about the following things while you are gathering information you need to begin your search for a clinical trial. You need to understand about clinical trials. You need to identify sources of the list of such clinical trials. Learn in detail about the clinical trials that may benefit you. You have to ask questions that will help you to decide whether or not you want to participate in some specific trial.
The time factor for cancer treatment clinical trials is an important consideration. Some clinical trial institutes take only those patients who have are yet to start with any kind of treatment.
This helps the doctors/researchers conducting the trial to study the first line treatment effects.
Therefore its best to approach a clinical trial institute before you start chemo or radio therapy.
There are also `follow-up Treatment options available in clinical trial institutes so if you have already taken the regular treatments and now want to try this, it is possible.
All you need to do is find out about places where follow-up treatment cancer clinical trials are available.
You should consult your doctor before deciding to join clinical trial. HE may be in a better position to decide whether the given option will benefit you or not. Although its not compulsory that when you approach clinical trial doctor’s reference is necessary, but still its better that you speak to your doctor about it while considering it.
You also have to make sure that you are eligible and fit into the clinical trial that you are considering to go for.
Eligibility criteria are the guidelines about patient who can and cannot participate in a particular study.
This makes it compulsory for the patient to know a few important things about his own cancer type, stage, medications taken, treatments, allergies etc.
Next step is searching for clinical trial database. There are many lists available but none are complete in the true sense.
However, the majority of trials listed in most resources are obtained from the Physician Data Query (PDQ) clinical trials database, which is maintained by the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
The other sources are Trial-check, Third Party Clinical trial Websites, Industry Sponsored Cancer trials, Fee Based Search Services, Cancer Advocacy Groups.
Before the patient with the help of her/his doctor and family members has frozen on a particular clinical trial he/she has to know clearly about the Trial Objective, Eligibility Criteria, Trial Location, Study Duration.
After finalizing it you can take contact numbers of trials that volunteered in the same institutes and can talk to them. Ask them crucial questions. It will make you more confident about getting into it. Likewise you can also contact your clinical team directly.
Speak to the doctors and nurses who will handle your case. Your doctor who was treating you earlier can also speak and discuss with your clinical team investigator.
These are a few points you should keep in mind before deciding for going for cancer trial.
