Cancer And Clinical Trials
Latest studies show that mortality caused by cancer has been
declining, and death rates from all types of cancers combined,
has dropped considerably from 1993 to our days. These results
indicate a progress in prevention and early detection of cancer.
To participate in a clinical trial is a very important and
personal decision. It is very helpful to talk to your physician
and also to your family about your thoughts of participating in
a clinical trial. Once you identify the trial options, you must
contact the research institute and ask all the questions you may
have related to your case. To participate in a clinical trial
you must qualify in their guidelines, which is called Inclusion
Criteria. This criteria is based on the following factors: your
age, gender, your previous treatment history, other medical
conditions you may have, and the type and stage of your disease.
Some of these research institutes are looking for patients on
their advanced stage of cancer and other are looking for healthy
participants. Clinical Trials will engage more doctor visits and
more tests than what it would normally be for a patient under a
regular treatment.
You may find an excellent source of cancer information at: www.cancernewsandi
nformation.com
To learn, and to get tons of information is the key of getting
the right clinical trial. If your native language is not
English, do not worry you will have translation assistance
provided by the research institute. Read everything you receive
from them and get a full understanding of what will be the
process, before you take a decision. You must understand that
clinical trials have some risks, such as: some serious or even
life-threatening side effects - It may be unpleasant - some
experimental treatment may not be effective for some patients -
it may implicate hospital stays or continuous trips to the study
site. On the other hand, the benefits of participating in a
clinical trial the fact that you will get access to a new
research treatment before this one is available to others - you
will help others by contributing to medical research and also
you will have access to expert medical care and advanced health
care facilities during the process.