rin

My husband’s first oncologist (who also pronounced him non-resectable with “a belly and chest full of disease,” which –thank goodness!–was not the case) told us that because clinical trials were not supported by the available literature, that he did not recommend them to his patients. Of course, building a basis for future data-driven recommendations for patients seems to be the point, but at the time of the diagnosis we were too shocked to argue with the guy. Incidentally, he did not remain our oncologist for long.

In any case, our experience has been that the need to move forward with treatment options trumps the patience and persistence it takes to find and determine one’s eligibility for a study. Additionally, it takes a cancer research team to figure out where the trials are being held and how you might fit into their protocols. Since my husband has been through two different kinds of chemo and a resection in the four months since his diagnosis, we find that he’s no longer eligible for a number of trials that we’ve researched. I do not think that we would have been willing to allow the cancer to progress while we waited around to determine whether or not we fit the parameters of a trial. The day that Dr. Selby–an amazing, brilliant surgeon who sees possibilities where other physicians see boundaries–pronounced my husband resectable, he was ready to climb onto the table with whatever butterknife and bandaids were available. At that point, no trial was worth waiting for. We saw a path that gave us hope, and we jumped on it.