Not everyone benefits. Even if a new treatment has benefits, it may not work for you. Even standard treatments, proven effective for many people, do not help everyone. Controls receive only standard therapy. If you receive standard treatment instead of the new treatment being tested, it may not be as effective as the new approach.
Costs depend upon type of insurance and state.
Health insurance and managed care providers do not always cover all patient care costs in a study. What they cover varies by plan and by study. To find out in advance what costs are likely to be paid in your case, talk to a doctor, nurse or social worker from the study. Congress is currently considering proposals to eliminate this barrier and require insurance coverage for cancer clinical trials. These small trials are the first step in testing new treatments in patients.