Advantages & Disadvantages
Participating in a clinical trial is completely voluntary. The main benefit of participating in clinical trials is access to new treatment options that can be potentially life-saving/extending and/or significantly improve quality of life, people participate in clinical trials for a variety of reasons. These include:
- Close monitoring of any potential side effects by the clinical trial team
- Care provided by a leading physician in the field of myeloma research
- Helping accelerate new drug approvals and/or their reimbursement through the evidence generated from the trial
- Helping researchers find better treatment options, advance myeloma research and improve the way patients will be treated in Canada, and at their cancer centre
However, there are some potential disadvantages of participating in clinical trials, related to the treatment being studied. The treatment may:
- Not work for a specific person
- Be ineffective or less effective than the current standard of care treatment
- Result in unpleasant, serious or unknown side effects
- Result in extended time being spent at the hospital or clinic
Depending on where you live and the study protocol (written plan), another important consideration may be the amount of time and cost related to travelling for treatments and/or clinic visits.
Questions for your Healthcare Team
- How will my daily life be affected by participating in this study?
- Can I talk to other people who are participating in the study?
- What are the possible short- and long-term benefits and risks?
- What other options do I have?
- How do the possible risks and benefits of this trial compare to those other options?