Patient & Advocate Voices

SWOG Cancer Research Network trial participants have many reasons to join a study. Here are some.

I cared enough about the community to join a SWOG trial. As a volunteer, I believe in giving back. And I'm not alone. There are a lot of great folks out there joining clinical trials.

Larry Crandall
SWOG Trial Participant

As a physician, I've seen patients benefit from treatments tested through clinical trials. And now, as a cancer patient, I've benefited from clinical trials, too, so I wanted to do my part.

Kate Halamay, MD
SWOG Trial Participant

As a patient in a clinical trial, you get more attention from your health care team, and more contact with them, compared to patients who receive standard cancer treatment. The medical staff must ensure you are receiving the intervention outlined in the trial, and the goal is for you to complete the study. Actually, everyone has their eyes on you. That’s why I say that participating in a cancer trial provides platinum care.

Desirée A. H. Walker
SWOG Patient Advocate

Pure and simple, I am alive today because of a clinical trial. We are on a quest to conquer cancer, and that journey requires clinical trials to achieve our goal. To my fellow military veterans who served our great nation, pay it forward. Participate in a clinical trial to help conquer our enemy – cancer. You, and your community, will be forever grateful.

Bruce A. Wright
SWOG Patient Advocate

I’d tell people considering a clinical trial the same thing that a friend and fellow cancer patient told me: Do it for your sake – and for the sake of others.

Gwyneth Slocum Bailey
SWOG Trial Participant

When you’re diagnosed with cancer, there are so many things you can’t control. But some things you can – like joining a clinical trial. Participating in a clinical trial gives you best-in-class care and sometimes gives you exclusive access to new cancer drugs. A trial is absolutely one of the best options to consider to take care of yourself and your family. 

Janice Choe
Past SWOG Patient Advocate

I’m an advocate for clinical trials for one reason: I don’t want anyone else to go through what I had to with my cancer. Up until a year ago, there were no treatments that could shrink my rare tumor. I had zero options. I had no hope. Now there is a drug that works for me, and it came from a clinical trial. 

Robert E. Taylor
Past SWOG Patient Advocate

As a two-time breast cancer survivor, I am here 20 years later because of clinical trial volunteers. Clinical trials give us evidence for what works in cancer care. We need more Latinos and other minorities to participate in trials so we know if new treatments work for people of all races and ethnicities. Joining a trial not only helps you, it’s another way to represent your community.

Barbara Segarra-Vazquez, DHSc 
SWOG Patient Advocate