Excerpt from Mind, Body and Soul by Nancy H. Dahm, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Oftentimes, a clinical trial may be a person's "last" hope. (I never believe in "last" hopes, for there is the faith factor that you cannot ignore, but I will talk about this in the next chapter.) Clinical trials are tests of new drugs that scientists have been working on for years. In the beginning, a research scientist tests these chemicals, proteins, or compounds on animals. They submit their data to the FDA, which then grants permission for clinical trial if the data shows promise. There are three phases to a clinical trial. The first, Phase I, is designed to make sure the experimental drug is safe to use in humans. A small group of 20-100 people are given the drug on a voluntary basis. About 70 percent of experimental drugs pass this first phase of testing. Phase II involves testing the drug for effectiveness. There are two groups involved. One group is given the drug while the other group gets a placebo, an inactive substance that is harmless. Sometimes testing involves a double-blind study. This means that neither the patient nor the investigators know which group is getting the experimental drug or the placebo.

The experimental drug is identified by a code. Phase III involves testing hundreds or thousands of patients. These are randomized and blinded trials. About 90 percent of the drugs tested complete this phase. Funding for clinical trials comes from many different sources but usually it is provided by the Federal government and/or pharmaceutical companies. The FDA requires all patients to sign an informed consent before entering a clinical trial. The National Cancer Institute also sponsors and monitors many clinical trials. (See Appendix for Chapter Nine for resources.) If you are considering participating in a clinical trial, you should find out if it is necessary to stop your traditional therapy while participating in the clinical trial. You would have to seriously consider the benefits and risks involved in doing so, if this is the case. Also, remember that if you are in a Phase II study that requires a control group - the group that receives the placebo - you have a 50/50 chance of not getting the experimental drug. Talk with your oncologist about your options for a clinical trial. You shouldn't have to make the decision on your own.

The American Cancer Society has been responsible for many groundbreaking discoveries in cancer research. The Society has invested over 2 billion dollars in grants and research projects throughout the country. The efforts of the Society have resulted in a cure for childhood leukemia, the discovery of a chemotherapeutic agent 5-FU, which is now widely used to treat many kinds of cancer, monoclonal antibody therapy to treat lymphoma and other cancers (pioneered by Dr. Ronald Levy), genetic engineering; the discovery of suppresser genes which suppress formation of tumors, and many more discoveries which have led to better understanding of and treatment for this disease.

Our hope belongs to the scientific pioneers who use an ordered approach consistent with their scientific methodology. It is their discoveries, made within this framework, that will hold up to validation, as opposed to claims made by word of mouth of a "new discovery" of an ancient botanical that "cures cancer." Hope often makes us run in scattered directions and caution is needed to keep from going down a path that leads nowhere.

Alternative Medicine and Cancer
Why do people choose alternative medicine over traditional Western medicine? Do they think exotic herbs, extracts, potions, and secret formulas hold the key to a cure that would only be balked at by empirical scientists? The answer to the first question is a mystery. We do not know why alternative or complementary therapies are being sought after so actively, yet 425 million visits in the United States were made to alternative medicine practitioners in 1990. A study reported in Journal of the American Medical Association in May, 1998 surveyed 1035 people in the United States. The researcher, John A. Astin, Ph.D. concluded that those seeking alternative medicine did so because they felt that it was more closely linked to their own beliefs, philosophy, and values regarding their health. In answer to the second question, yes, many people do believe that these ancient herbs and extracts hold the key to a promise of a cure. And this may be a very dangerous assumption. The danger lies in rushing to conclusions and foregoing proven methods that are backed by clinical trials with the most rigid standards. These ancient formulations of natural origin are not bound by any regulation and someone who wants desperately to live will seek out anything that sounds like hope, especially if touted by a hope-master - a clinician who has something to gain.

Copyright Nancy Hassett Dahm October 2000. All rights reserved.