Clinical Trials: Hope, Hard Choices & the Human Experience

What happens when you're told there are no more treatment options? And how do you find your way into a clinical trial when you don't even know where to start?

In this deeply personal episode, Barbara is joined by two very special Young Tongues members, Holly from the UK and Molly from the US, who share their very different experiences of participating in clinical trials following a recurrence of tongue cancer.

For Holly, a second opinion opened a door she didn't know existed. Having initially been told there was little more that could be done, she is now experiencing encouraging results from a clinical trial. For Molly, clinical trials have offered precious additional time, but her experience also highlights the emotional pressures, difficult decisions and challenges of navigating experimental treatments.

Together, they explore the realities of accessing clinical trials, understanding treatment options, managing side effects, navigating financial and geographical barriers, and the importance of being treated as a person rather than a research participant.

It's an honest, sometimes emotional, but also wonderfully warm conversation about hope, uncertainty, friendship and why patients' voices must be at the heart of clinical research.

Content note: This episode includes discussions of cancer recurrence, advanced disease, palliative care and end-of-life experiences. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.