Geneva Pattison
Cancer Trials Ireland are looking for participants to take part in their virtual Cancer Retreat day on May 21st. The event, which is aimed at the cancer research community, also falls on the same day as international Clinical Trials Day.
The retreat is an open day for people in the cancer community, created to keep people informed and up to date on the cancer research and trials taking part in Ireland at the moment. This first session will be open to cancer patients, advocates and people in the community.
As mentioned in a press release, they hope to “shed some light” on how cancer trials exactly work and how people can take part should they want to. This call out initiative is part of their “Just Ask” campaign, where CTI encourage people with a cancer diagnosis to ask their oncologist would they be suitable to take part in a clinical trial, to try help fight their disease.
Each year in Ireland, around 45,000 people are diagnosed with a form of cancer and it is estimated that 1 in 2 people will develop some sort of cancer at some point in their lifetime.
The aim of these clinical trials, is to provide a new and potentially more effective treatment to people who have a cancer diagnosis, or to provide alternative medical treatments where there is no other treatment options for a patient.
As stated by the CTI, the cancer treatment trials are not just for the benefit of patients receiving them, they are also for the wider future cancer community, to “pave the way for others to access potentially life saving therapies”.
There are 18 trial centres across Ireland, including Dublin. If you are interested in registering or finding out more information about Cancer Trials Ireland, visit their website https://www.cancertrials.ie/
