Clinical trials

Clinical trials are research studies carefully designed to test promising new treatments (or procedures), in this case for cancer.

They are tested in patient volunteers, and may or may not be financed by an outside organization.

To participate in a clinical trial is to contribute to the development of medicine, what, ultimately, benefits you and other patients. It might be, as well, a way to increase your treatment options, since patients in clinical trials will be the first ones to get the new drugs.

However, there are benefits but also risks and limitations inherent to these studies, and is important that you understand these well.

To know more see  clinical trials and placebo

If you are interested, start by asking your family or hospital doctor if there are clinical trials in which you could participate. There is even the possibility of participating in a clinical trial specifically for your disease being run in another country.

The AntiCancer Fund and the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) clinicaltrials.gov are websites where you can find clinical trails run by respected scientific institutions all over the world.

Before making a decision, though, try to understand how clinical trials work.

For example, there are randomized studies, in which you will not be able to choose or even know the type of treatment that is administered to you (see more in clinical trials and placebo ).

The volunteers also have to fulfill certain requisites. If you do, then you can decide if you want to participate in the trials.

If you are interested, start by asking your doctor if your clinic or hospital has ongoing clinical trials. You can then contact a foreign institution that has clinical trials for your specific case.