As a patient, it can be hard to decide about your treatment. There are a number of things to consider. Cancer is a life-threatening disease which causes symptoms of its own that are not related to treatment. In each case, the unavoidable risks of the cancer itself, and your condition, should be weighed against the potential risks and benefits of a new research treatment. Standard treatments, as well as treatments in clinical trials, can also cause side effects and risks.
Any medical treatment can carry the potential for side effects in some patients.
Cancer treatment is particularly powerful, because it is designed to destroy constantly dividing cancer cells. It can also affect healthy dividing cells and this can cause side effects. The challenge to researchers has been to develop treatments that destroy cancer cells but do not harm healthy cells. Cancer researchers are trying to make cancer treatment more effective and lessen its side effects for the cancer patient. How patients feel during and after treatment is important.