Potential trial participation

A little update from me just before I head into my 7th chemo session on Wednesday. All's well, my follow-up chest x-ray was all clear, there seem to be no concerns from my ECG and I'm ready to go for the penultimate round. It feels good to be close to the end of chemo. I've been invited to participate in a clinical trial so I thought I'd share the information with you as it sounds really interesting. Basically, there were some studies carried out into the beneficial effect of taking aspirin in those who had heart disease, and some of the data suggested that aspirin appeared to reduce the number of people who developed cancer, and if people did develop cancer, it appeared to be less likely to spread. So a huge clinical trial has been set up to test these theories, comprised of people who have been treated for cancer of the stomach, prostate, bowel, oesophagus and breast. They are aiming to recruit 3,100 patients who have been treated for early stage breast cancer, which is why they have approached me.

The trial is called the Add-Aspirin trial, and has already been running for over a year. It's funded by Cancer Research UK, the UK Department of Health and the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit at UCL (University College London). They wish to test the long-term effects on the potential of cancer returning of taking a dose of aspirin every day. I will first of all have to take part in a 'run-in' period where I take a low dose of aspirin every day for 8 weeks. If all is fine, I will proceed to the trial. One third of participants will receive a regular dose of aspirin, one third will receive a low dose of aspirin, and one third will receive a placebo. I will not know which strand I'm in. They want me to take a tablet every day for 5 years. I will receive regular check-ups, blood tests, mammograms and other tests, as well as a questionnaire each year, because aspirin has also been alleged to protect against age-related cognitive impairment. (Hilarious! Can it help me remember my keys every day?)

One of the things I've been considering recently is how I can 'give back' after I complete treatment. I feel really positive about the opportunity to participate in something which could make a real difference to cancer treatment in the future, and potentially help save people's lives. Although I will be unlikely to personally benefit from this trial, there's a good chance that the data gained from the trial will benefit people in future. Plus, samples of my blood and a sample from my cancer (when they get round to removing it!) will be donated for research, which is pretty cool. I also like that I get an 8-week run to check that my body would have no adverse effects from taking aspirin. Plus, it's aspirin! People have been taking this for years. It's not as though it's some new drug that has only been tested on mice. So I think it's a pretty good thing to do. I'll let you know if I get on the trial.