Is a trial a last resort?

No. Trials run at every stage, including the very first treatment someone is offered. Some of the biggest advances in cancer came from trials in people who had plenty of options.

If someone tells you a trial means we have run out of ideas, that is a story about trials rather than a fact about yours. Ask your team where this trial sits among your options.

Written by two physicians. Checked against patient information from the US National Cancer Institute and Cancer Research UK.