Kenneth J. Pienta, M.D. discusses how important it is to make volunteering for a clinical trial easy and convenient. Without those patients willing to
volunteer for a clinical trial, cancer treatment would not advance or improve.
If I join a clinical trial, will I have to stop seeing my community oncologist?
If you volunteer for a clinical trial at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center, your clinical care must be provided by U-M doctors who are
responsible for patients enrolled in the trial or by their associates. However, if travel to Ann Arbor is a problem, U-M doctors may be able
to arrange for routine tests to be performed by your community doctor.
Will I get paid for being a study volunteer?
That depends on the study's sponsor. Some clinical trials reimburse study volunteers for expenses involved in traveling to Ann Arbor,
especially if it requires an overnight visit. Some studies offer a small stipend for the time and inconvenience involved in participating
in the study. But many clinical studies provide no reimbursement for study participants.
If I join a clinical trial, what's in it for me?
No one can promise that an experimental treatment will cure your cancer, but it may prolong your life and give you more quality time to spend
with your family and friends. Even if you don't receive any direct personal benefit, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you've made
an invaluable contribution to research. Many cancer patients who volunteer for clinical trials say they do it to help their children, grandchildren
and others who may be diagnosed with cancer in the future.
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