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Ovarian Cancer Clinical Trials

Participating in ovarian cancer clinical trials is not as simple as it sounds. Sure, you might be tempted to believe that a newfangled method of treatment will in effect cure your cancer faster or easier than the use of tried and true chemotherapy, radiation therapy or any of the other treatment options your physician is suggesting, but keep in mind that there are some distinct drawbacks to relying on clinical trials for your cancer cure!

1. First and foremost, there is a study group which will not have access to the experimental drug. In some cases those individuals may receive a placebo while in other trials they may simply receive conventional treatment. Since these patients are not aware that they are indeed in the control group, they are not able to receive the same kind of care and treatment as those who would be undergoing the conventional treatment at the behest of their physician. You will have informed consent about the limitations of the control group, and although each ovarian cancer patient hopes not to be in it, there is usually a 50-50 chance that you will be.

2. Participating in a clinical trial does not result in less but more doctors' visits. Remember that the research facility will not only test the response of your ovarian cancer but most likely also the systemic response to the drugs they are administering. Thus you will undergo more testing, see more scientists and researchers, fill out more questionnaires, and spend more time than you might have had to allocate to conventional cancer treatment. Even though this does not have to make the clinical trials a bad experience, it is important to understand this aspect of the trial participation that is sometimes not made clear.

3. In addition to a time commitment there is also a heightened commitment to following the orders of the researchers and attending physicians. It is not possible to wing it or spend a day or so not following directions. Remember that you are now directly responsible for the accurate determination of a drug's efficacy and failure to adhere strictly to the tenets of the study will taint the results and may in the end result in the failure of a drug to meet certain criteria, even though in itself the drug is entirely feasible. With acceptance into a clinical trial comes a high level of responsibility on a number of levels!

4. In many ways, participating in a clinical trial for treatment of your ovarian cancer puts you out of the mainstream. No longer are you following an already established path but instead you are more or less blazing your own trail. Some patients may find that they do not have what it takes to be away from the support network of those who have already undergone similar treatments and will help you know what to expect and how to deal with it.

Ovarian cancer clinical trials are ongoing and yet it requires a lot of thought and professional advice before you enter such a trial and see it through. For many this is a most rewarding experience while for others it is not what they had imagined at all.