Clinical Trial Myths: Day 4

Clinical trials are only for really sick people who have exhausted all of their treatment options.

Many people believe clinical trials are only available if there are no other treatment options, or are only for people with terminal illnesses. Some clinical trials are aimed at these individuals, and some clinical trials exist for illnesses where a standard of care does not yet exist or is not effective.

However, there are clinical trials available for all types and all stages of cancer. Furthermore, there are clinical trials for cancer detection, diagnosis, prevention, and survivorship as well. While eligibility criteria exists to determine who is able to participate in each individual study, there are a variety of studies available to those who want to participate.