Resources
Our goal is not to bring patients to our practice,
but rather to help patients find the treatment that offers them the best hope. We'd like you to learn all you can
about your cancer and explore all your treatment options before choosing us or another. We are pleased to recommend
several web-based resources that offer valuable information. (We have no affiliation or arrangements with any of these
institutions; they are offered purely for your benefit.)
First, learn about your cancer and its prognosis. The National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes
of Health, an agency of the United States government. They offer excellent educational resources which are free of any
bias or endorsement. Find their website at
www.cancer.gov
The American Cancer Society is also an outstanding educational resource.
Access their site at
www.cancer.org
You'll find other helpful resources at the site of the National
Comprehensive Cancer Network, an independent non-profit research consortium of some of the nation's best-known cancer
centers. You can find them at
www.nccn.org
Finally, we believe in the same advice emphasized to doctors and patients
by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network: "NCCN believes that the best management of any cancer patient is
in a clinical trial. Participation in clinical trials is especially encouraged." There is now a site open
to the public where you can find out about many of the clinical trials offered both in this country and elsewhere. It
is an unbiased and independent site offered by the National Cancer Institute. You can access it at
www.clinicaltrials.gov
and sort with your diagnosis and other criteria to find trials
that might be of interest to you. Not every clinical trial is necessarily listed but many are.
We hope these links lead you to information that helps you. If you choose to seek our treatment, we want that
decision to be made only after you have gained all the information you can and after you have evaluated every reasonable option.
If you want
the right answers ...
Many cancer patients don't get the best care possible. Most of them never learn about or at least never seriously
look into clinical trials or other off-label treatment. And the great majority of cancer patients are never told that
the treatment being recommended to them has very little chance of actually beating their cancer. The reason we see for
this again and again is that few doctors volunteer this information, and the patients either don't know the right questions
to ask or are too afraid to ask questions that they're afraid might offend their doctors!
Inadequate information leads to bad decisions, and cancer patients can't afford that. We recommend the following
questions be asked by patients considering any cancer treatment. If the treatment under consideration is very new or
investigational, some of the answers might not be known yet. For standard treatments, they are. In either case
getting as much straightforward information as you can will help you sort out complicated options. You can even copy
these questions straight off the page and print them out to take with you.
1. What
is the expected outcome with my diagnosis, and in what period of time, if I choose to forego any treatment at all?
2.
What treatment do you recommend?
3.
What is the expected outcome, and in what period of time, if I accept the recommended treatment?
What is the experience of most patients?
How many patients have experienced a complete response?
How many have experienced long-term control of disease (no significant spread
or growth)?
What is the usual increase in survival with
the treatment recommended?
4.
What are the likely side effects and impact on quality of life of the recommended treatment?
5. Are there irreversible
side effects? Tissue/organ damage? Heart or kidney or bone marrow failure?
6. Where would the
treatment need to be administered - inpatient or outpatient? How often and for how long would I need to
be in your office or facility?
7.
What clinical trials should I most strongly consider? Are they phase 2 or 3? What
is being tested and what realistic potential do they hold for me? How much would I need to be away from
home for these?
Patients considering the NeoPlas Innovation treatment program
may also want to include the following question
8. If I am considering an off-label regimen of lovastatin and reduced-dose interferon, and
that physician would allow concurrent usage of your recommended treatment, would you also agree with this?
Is there any valid reason not to consider such a regimen?
We hope these resources are helpful.
We want you to find the best treatment for your cancer, regardless of whether that involves our work. And if we're the
right option for you, we look forward to hearing from you.