Since you received your diagnosis of mesothelioma, you may struggle with your mortality, the fact that there is no cure for the disease and your treatment options. Depending on your diagnosis, you may not be eligible for certain “mainstream” and popularly accepted treatments that could extend your life and give you more time with your loved ones and to live your life.
Those types of treatments may ravage your body in such a way that you just don’t feel like doing anything even when you are able to benefit from them. Perhaps you may be able to avail yourself of an alternative.
Would you consider joining a clinical trial?
It’s possible that you could qualify to participate in a clinical trial with researchers who are seeking a cure and/or better treatments for your condition. After all, your diagnosis guarantees that you may not have much time left. If you could help someone else and perhaps gain more time for yourself, would you do it?
Clinical trials involving people tend to occur after a significant amount of research and non-human test trials. One can complete them by researching the following:
- Better cancer diagnostic tools
- Better cancer treatments
- Methods to manage the symptoms of cancer
- Methods to manage the side effects of cancer treatment
- Ways to prevent cancer
If you could gain more time or enjoy a less painful time through participation in a clinical trial, it may be worth your while.
Some facts about clinical trials
Every clinical trial has a principal investigator, usually a doctor, who is responsible for creating the trial’s protocol or plan. The protocol includes the following information:
- The eligibility criteria that determines who can participate
- The reason for the trial
- The number of people needed to conduct the trial
- The medical testing that will occur
- How often medical testing will occur
- Any treatments or drugs administered during the trial
- Dosage, frequency and method of administration of the treatment or drug
- Information collected about the participants before, during and after the trial
In many cases, these clinical trials result in life-sustaining and life-prolonging treatments, and you may receive such a treatment before it’s released to the public and at no cost to you. In many cases, you do not have to financially cover your medical care during clinical trials. If you do not receive the care you need in this way, you may want to explore other ways in which you could have your financial needs covered in light of your illness.