Cancer Clinical Trials: A Commonsense Guide to Experimental Cancer Therapies and Clinical Trials

Cancer Clinical Trials is a comprehensive, no-nonsense, and readable guide for anyone who is considering therapeutic options in addition to standard cancer therapy. The book seeks to share knowledge about cancer clinical trials with people living with cancer, their families and loved ones. It will help readers decide if a clinical trial is a good option for them, to choose an appropriate trial, and to navigate through the clinical trial process. It includes lists of questions to ask, things to look for, things to watch out for, and places to look for information.

The book begins with a discussion of what cancer is and the many ways in which it is treated ? including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and new strategies now in use or that will be available in the near future. It considers all aspects of clinical trials, including how they are designed, how to find and evaluate them, how to become a participant, and details of what they will involve in terms of time and commitment. A chapter on available drugs now used to treat cancer will be especially helpful.

Tomasz M. Beer, M.D., is a medical oncologist who leads a research and clinical trial program at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Oregon. He has been directly involved in over 100 clinical trials and has treated many hundreds of cancer patients. He has led trials at all phases, including those that use a medication previously only tested in animals for the first time in people, as well as large international trials that compare treatments to each other that, when successful, change the standard of cancer care.

It is Tom’s hope is that this book will help readers enter into the often mysterious world of clinical trials armed with information and well prepared to make needed decisions.

Larry W. Axmaker, Ed.D., is a retired psychologist, teacher, and writer who has cancer (prostate) and has participated in several clinical trials. He recently published a book about prostate cancer entitled Real Men Get Prostate Cancer Too that chronicles his sometimes serious, sometimes humorous journey with his cancer.