Should You Enroll in a Mesothelioma Clinical Trial?
In medicine, new developments come along all the time. Enrolling in a clinical trial for your condition can give you access to the most advanced medical treatments available for mesothelioma — before they even reach the general public.
But is enrolling in a clinical trial for mesothelioma treatment right for you? Before you sign up, here are a few things you need to consider:
- Do you meet all the research requirements? It can be devastating to get your hopes up about a study and get halfway through the admission process when you find out you’re ineligible. You can prevent that by asking your physician for the study’s eligibility requirements early on. (Do not assume your physician knows them.)
- Do you understand the risks? Few medical procedures or treatments are entirely without risk, but clinical trials abound with them. What are the known risks? What type of aftercare treatment will you get if something goes wrong? You also need to assess how comfortable you are with the answers to those questions before you proceed.
- What are your chances of getting a placebo? This can be particularly important if you are trying to decide between the clinical trial and another treatment.
- What is the schedule? When you’re suffering from mesothelioma, you have limited physical resources and energy. You may not want to spend your time traveling to and from the treatment location or undergoing lengthy procedures.
Ultimately, there’s no right (or wrong) answer when it comes to clinical trials. It’s just a matter of deciding where your best options lie and what you want. As you evaluate your choices, don’t forget that mesothelioma victims may be eligible for compensation that can help them better afford quality medical care and broaden their options.
