As Coronavirus Continues to Spread in the U.S., the Clinical Trials Cancer Patients Rely on Are Disappearing

Tori Geib was already on high alert when COVID-19 hit last winter. Diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2016, the Ohio chef went from one chemotherapy regimen to another in an effort to outrun the cancer that had spread from her breast to her bones, lungs and liver. To protect her-self from infections, even before the pandemic she often wore masks when she went out in public and carried hand sanitizer at all times. But COVID-19 presented a new and daunting challenge. At some point, Geib knew, she would exhaust all approved treatment options and would need to move to experimental therapies. But when COVID-19 began to burden hospitals, many suspended clinical trials. “It made what limited options I had even more limited,” she says. “When your cancer is growing and progressing, you want to know what the next thing is that you will have access to. COVID-19 brought in a new fear: Will that research or trial be there when I need it?” Three months ago, Geib learned her cancer had progressed, so she again changed to a different chemotherapy. At the end of June, she learned the cancer had spread to her brain, so she received radiation treatment. She is also taking another off-label therapy while waiting for more clinical trials to become available near where she lives. “I’m trying to navigate the system and find the next thing I need to go to.” Estimates of how many cancer patients enroll in clinical trials range from 2% to 8%. But sinc...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Magazine Source Type: news