Clinical Trials in Midland, Michigan
Clinical trials are often the first choice of treatment for many cancer patients, because they give people access to new, emerging treatments designed to be better than current treatments.
Patients and doctors in the middle of Michigan now have immediate access to the latest diagnostic and advanced care options for cancer, including clinical trials. Many of these trials are conducted at MidMichigan Medical Center in Midland, Michigan, enabling patients to get state of the art treatment close to home.
What is a clinical trial?
A clinical trial is a research study that involves people.
Treatment trials for cancer are designed to evaluate the effectiveness of new anticancer approaches, such as new drugs or surgical methods. These methods must undergo three phases of study to determine their safety and effectiveness before the Food and Drug Administration will approve them for use in the general population.
Quality of Life/ Supportive care trials study new methods for improving the comfort and quality of life of cancer patients.
There are also trials involving people who haven't been diagnosed with cancer. These studies attempt to find better screening, prevention and diagnostic methods.
Risks and Benefits
Participating in a clinical trial offers both benefits and risks. On one hand, if the treatment proves effective, a person may be among the first to benefit. This person also receives excellent care during the study. And the person will experience the satisfaction of knowing that participating in the trials might help others in the future. No one knows, however, whether the treatment will work or what side effects it may cause.
Many clinical trials are designed to directly compare a new treatment to the standard treatment. If you are eligible for one of these trials, you could be placed in the "standard" treatment group, or in the "new treatment" group. This placement is completely random.
Current Trials at MidMichigan
Breast Cancer
How to Participate in a Clinical Trial
If you are interested in participating in a clinical trial, you may fill out an information form, and MidMichigan's clinical trials nurse will contact you to find out whether you may fit the eligibility criteria. The clinical trials nurse may need to request detailed medical and personal information from you and may also need to contact your doctor to gain enough information to determine your eligibility.
If you become enrolled in a trial at MidMichigan, the information collected about you during the trial will be shared with other researchers in the fight against cancer. You will also be assigned to one of MidMichigan's investigating doctors who are conducting the trial. This doctor will manage your treatment for the duration of the trial.
To find out whether you are eligible, please contact the clinical trials nurse at (989) 839-6180 or proceed to our Clinical Trial Information Request Form (PDF, 35KB).
This page last updated November 10, 2011.
