Questions - Before Taking Part in a Clinical Trial:
(source: Taking Part in Clinical Trials: What Patients Need to Know. NCI. 1998)

These are questions you may wish to ask your physician or nurse. Not all questions relate to every concern or type of treatment. The following questions should be the beginning of your own list of questions or concerns.


About Clinical Trials in General

• What is the purpose of the clinical trial? Why is it important to me?
  
  
• Why do researchers believe the new treatment being tested may be effective?
  
  
• Has the trial been tested before? Has it been reviewed and approved?
  
  
• Who is sponsoring the clinical trial?
  
  
• What will happen to the information received from my participation?

About Your Treatment Therapy

• Are there standard treatments for my type of cancer?
  
  
• What drugs will I be taking? Why have you chosen these particular drugs for me? What are the drugs suppose to do?
  
  
• How do the possible risks, side effects, and benefits (both long-term and short-term) in the clinical trial compare with standard treatment?
  
  
• What kinds of treatments, medical tests, or procedures will I have during the clinical trial? Will they be painful? How do they compare with what I would receive outside the clinical trial?
  
  
• Where will my treatment take place? Will I have to be in the hospital? If so, how often and for how long?
  
  
• How will I know if the treatment is working?
  
  
• Will I be able to see my own doctor? Who will monitor my care?

• What are the possible short- and long-term risks, side effects, and benefits for me?
  
  
• How could the clinical trial affect my daily life?
  
  
• Can I be put in touch with other people in this clinical trial?
  
  
• Will I have any problems (physical, financial and/or emotional) if I withdraw from the trial?

• What kind of support in the community is there for me and my family?
  
  
• What are the precautions or restrictions during treatment? After treatment?
  
  
• What side effects should I report to the doctor or the nurse immediately?
  
  
• Can I continue normal activities (work, sex, sports, etc.) during treatment? After treatment?
  
  

• Will I have to pay for any treatment, tests, or other charges?
  
  
• What is my health insurance likely to cover?
  
  
• Who can help answer any questions from my insurance company or managed care plan?