Is a Clinical Trial Right for you?
Peggy Gilbertsen, RN, is the Lurie Cancer Center's Clinical Trials Recruitment Coordinator, a newly-created position within the Clinical Research Office (CRO). An experienced oncology research nurse with a long history at the Lurie Cancer Center, Peggy is developing a clinical trials education program for patients, caregivers and community members.
What are clinical trials? In cancer care, clinical trials are studies that are designed to answer questions about new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. Some trials study how certain behaviors or activities such as yoga, exercise, and meditation affect quality of life and wellness. Cancer trials test a wide range of innovative cancer therapies and often provide patients with the most advanced and promising treatment options. Clinical trials may include:
- New drugs or vaccines
- New ways to do surgery
- New ways to give radiation
- New combinations of therapies and treatments
- New ways to manage the side effects of cancer treatments
Ask your doctor if a clinical cancer trial is right for you, or your loved one.
If you would like to talk to a registered nurse about clinical trials at Northwestern, e-mail Peggy Gilbertsen or call her at 312-695-1102.
(Last updated on April 12, 2013 )
