Cancer Experts

Clinical Trials Facts You Should Know

Why you should consider participating in a clinical trial and what to expect from the experience.

Credit: Jacob Dwyer

For people with cancer or other serious health conditions, volunteering for a clinical trial is a way to make an important contribution to the future of medicine.

A clinical trial is a research study that helps doctors and researchers learn about new ways to prevent, find and treat a disease or condition. The knowledge gained from clinical trials can help improve the quality of health care over time.

Today, thanks to patients who volunteered for studies, we have a range of treatments that can cure or delay the progression of cancer for many years. We have also learned better ways to manage cancer symptoms through clinical trials.

“You might want to join a trial either to get access to a study treatment, or to contribute to knowledge that could improve the health of other patients with a similar condition to yours,” says Anne Schott, M.D., associate director for clinical research at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center.

Learn the six things you need to know about participating in a clinical trial.

Improving Outcomes for Patients with Pancreatic Cancer

Photo courtesy of U-M Department of Surgery

While researchers make strides towards new medicines, immunotherapy approaches and biological insights, surgeons bring advances into the operating room.

Earlier this year, doctors and researchers celebrated the news that the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer had crossed into double digits for the first time -- up from just 6% in 2011.

Hari Nathan, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of surgery at Michigan Medicine, sat down with the Michigan Health blog to talk about recent advances in surgical care for patients with pancreatic cancer, and some things patients should look for when evaluating where to seek treatment.

Continue reading this in our Living with Cancer section

Living with Stage 4 Cancer

Rev. Dr. Stacey Simpson Duke offers some practical advice for patients with advanced cancer, their family and friends

Rev. Dr. Stacey Simpson Duke

In the two years since she received a diagnosis of stage 4 leiomyosarcoma, the Rev. Dr. Stacey Simpson Duke has had time to reflect on some of the practical aspects of living with the uncertainty of her disease.

In an interview with the Michigan Health Blog, she offers practical tips for talking to friends or loved ones with a similar, serious diagnosis, and about planning for the future.

Stage 4 means that a patient’s cancer has spread beyond the site where it originated to other parts of the body through a process known as metastasis. Sometimes called "advanced cancer," metastasis typically marks a shift from treating to cure toward attempts to slow the cancer’s growth and mollify symptoms.

One of the hardest aspects of receiving a stage 4 diagnosis were the comments of well-meaning friends and acquaintances, Duke says.

Continue reading this in our Living with Cancer section.