If you or a loved one is currently battling cancer, you’ve probably heard of something called clinical trials. Just at Regional Cancer Care Associates alone, more than 300 trials are conducted throughout New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland. Clinical trials play an important role in the cancer community because they can help discover new treatments and offer hope to patients and their families.
Here’s just some of the ways that clinical trials help contribute to cancer care.
Clinical Trials Help Make New Treatment Options Available
The purpose of clinical trials is to investigate new therapies, medications and techniques for cancer treatment. As new discoveries emerge, patients get one step closer to beating their specific type of cancer, including lung, colon, breast and prostate cancer.
But first, researchers need to make sure that these new methods are safe and effective for human use before making them available to the public. Without the process of clinical trials in place, new medications and immunotherapies would never get approved.
Clinical Trials Can Help When Nothing Else Does
In cases where patients are no longer benefiting from existing treatment options, clinical trials can provide access to cutting-edge treatments that may prove more effective. Trying a new medication or therapy might be just what that patient needs. While not all clinical trials will be successful, many of them are. For added safety, the team at RCCA coordinates carefully with local physicians to create individualized treatment protocols for each candidate.
Clinical Trials Keep Cancer Care Moving Forward
Even if a clinical trial is unsuccessful, it still offers important value to the entire cancer community. The participants’ results help doctors and researchers figure out what works and what doesn’t, so that they can continue working toward a cure.
And when a clinical trial is successful, new treatments can be made available. Hospitals will then be able to use the approved medications, devices or treatments to help save the lives of those dealing with cancer now and in the future.
Commitment to Care
If you’re interested in learning more about cancer clinical trials, or if you think you want to participate in one, contact your local RCCA office today. Our team is committed to providing value-based care to every patient, whether they’re fighting breast cancer, colon cancer or any other type of cancer, in order to achieve positive outcomes.