If you’ve never participated in a clinical trial, it’s common to have questions about what the experience is like. While My Trial Community is here to answer any questions, another good way to learn about clinical trials is to talk with people who’ve volunteered as trial participants themselves. It might be a friend, a family member, a classmate, or a coworker. As a starting point, check out the four patients below and hear how clinical trials made a difference in their lives.
Amy has spent the past 20 years living with the challenges of systemic scleroderma, a rare disease that affects only about one in 10,000 people. Hear what first led her to clinical trials and why she thinks they played a huge role in developing multiple treatment options that benefit her disease community today.
A retired doctor himself, George was taken by surprise to learn he had mantle cell lymphoma, a type of cancer affecting the immune system. Facing a difficult prognosis, he quickly realized that joining a clinical trial offered him the chance to once again be a contributing member of the scientific community. Now, some three years later, he’s only looking ahead.
With no cancer history in her family, Lucy had little reason to believe that a small lump in her breast could be cancerous. Until it was. Listen as Lucy, a young teacher, does her own research to decide if a clinical trial of two similar cancer treatments is right for her.
When Alicia was diagnosed with HIV, she largely kept it to herself. It was a different time, and the stigma of HIV was unforgiving. But as times changed, she began to have a different outlook. Hear how clinical trials became one of the many ways that Alicia could give back to her community.
