2 days Ago By Editorial Staff
“Just Ask” information webinar taking place on International Clinical Trials Day, May 20 Ahead of International Clinical Trials Day on May 20, Cancer Trials Ireland is mounting a “Just Ask” campaign urging people with cancer undergoing treatment to ‘just ask’ their doctors of the clinical trial options open to them. With over 24,000 people newly diagnosed with cancer each year in Ireland 1 , Cancer Trials Ireland is dedicated to finding new ways to prevent, find and treat cancer. It currently has over 110 trials open and recruiting new patients.
Prof Gerry, Hanna Vice-Clinical Lead, Cancer Trials Ireland The charity is hosting an information webinar on Tuesday May 20 from 2.30-3.30pm offering an overview of trials here, how they work and how to access them.
The session will feature the perspectives of both cancer researchers and patients, with contributions from Prof Gerry Hanna , Vice Clinical Lead, Cancer Trials Ireland, Dr Claire Kilty , Head of Research at the Irish Cancer Society, and patient advocate Jed van de Poll. Broadcaster and former GP, Ciara Kelly, will host the webinar which is free of charge to members of the public—to register, visit www.cancertrials.
ie/JustAsk . For Prof Gerry Hanna, Vice Clinical Lead at Cancer Trials Ireland, the ambition is to achieve an up to 75 per cent five-year survival rate for people diagnosed with cancer within the next decade: “We’re seeking to constantly improve outcomes for people with cancer and we’ve gone from 25 per cent of people being alive five years after a cancer diagnosis 30 years ago, to now over 50 per cent. We want to get that figure up to 75 per cent in the next ten years and one of the ways that we can do this is through clinical trials in finding the next generation of treatments that will improve outcomes for people with cancer.
The intention with a prospective trial treatment received by patients is that it should be at least as good as the standard of care and hopefully better. “We also know that in hospitals that run clinical trials, the outcomes are generally better even for those patients who are not taking part in the trial, as the quality of clinical care improves for everyone. With this campaign, I would encourage any person going through cancer treatment to ‘just ask’ their doctor if there is a cancer trial currently available that would be suitable for them.
” Public Attitudes When it comes to the latest attitudes of members of the public to clinical trials, a survey conducted by Cancer Trials Ireland in July last year yielded some very interesting findings: Interestingly, three-in-four of those surveyed (77 per cent) know someone who has had cancer , or have had cancer themselves. Cancer Clinical Trials – Your Questions Answered What questions should I not forget to ask the cancer trial team? It is helpful to know if you can take part in more than one trial and if participation could mean missing out on future trials. It is also very useful to know likely side effects and if there is anything that you are not allowed to do while on the trial.
For more information on the work of Cancer Trials Ireland, visit www.cancertrials.ie , or call the Irish Cancer Society’s Cancer Nurseline on Freephone 1800 200 700.
Cancer Trials Ireland is partly funded by the Health Research Board and the Irish Cancer Society. References available upon request..
