Clinical trials changing lives: one researcher's story – NHS England Digital
This was about a decade ago and, as a spoiler alert, he’s doing great. When he was diagnosed, there was a randomised controlled trial open to test interventions for people with his condition. I knew this because, in an awful coincidence, his cancer was in an area I had been involved with researching for the past 10 years.
My son was old enough to drive decisions about whether to participate, but not legally old enough to sign his own consent form. I would have supported his decision either way, but I’m proud he chose to participate, knowing that it might help people like him in the future but not necessarily him directly. One scary Saturday afternoon, as we all sat together in the paediatric ward with his oncologist, I signed the consent form for his participation.
Like many clinical trials in real life, this wasn’t testing a bright and shiny new drug. It was a trial looking at which existing treatment regime would be more effective to treat his condition. The approach more commonly used in Europe was being compared to the approach more commonly used in North America.
Both treatments were known to work well for many (but not all) people. Both would involve 8 months of treatment with chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery, and about 100 nights in hospital. We had no idea if the regime my son was allocated to would be the one which proved more effective or not, we just hoped he would do well – and the data would help others.
My son amazed me with his strength, resilience, and unwavering good nature during such gruelling treatment. Our family, our friends, and all the hospital staff were phenomenal.
