True or False?

bctt on January 3, 2020

I will have to pay for ALL medical costs associated with my participation in a breast cancer clinical trial.

 

Answer: False

While you are in a treatment trial you may receive an experimental, new breast cancer treatment in addition to routine breast cancer care. In this instance, the trial sponsor is responsible for the new breast cancer treatment while many insurers will cover the remaining routine patient care costs. (Patients will still have to pay co-pays and co-insurance amounts, even if the trial is covered by their insurance.)

In fact, Federal law requires most insurance companies to cover routine patient care costs like scans and other tests that take place in the clinical trial. This varies from state-to-state, so it is important to check with your insurance carrier. Medicare has been covering routine costs for breast cancer clinical trials since June 2000.

Most trials do not cover costs such as parking, meals, transportation (if the trial site is not near your home) and lodging. However, there are programs that can help cover these costs.

You can find more information about “Paying for Clinical Trials” in MTT.

True or False?

bctt on November 1, 2019

2% of breast cancer patients are diagnosed initially with stage IV metastatic disease.

 

Answer: False

Between 6-10% of breast cancer patients are diagnosed initially with stage IV metastatic disease. This is called “de novo” metastatic breast cancer.

You can learn more about de novo metastatic breast cancer here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5905205/

You can find personal stories from women diagnosed de novo on MTT here: https://breastcancertrialtalk.org/2018/12/01/personal-stories-6/

True or False?

bctt on September 3, 2019

You may be treated with only a placebo in a metastatic breast cancer clinical trial. 

 

Answer: False

A patient with metastatic breast cancer will never receive only a placebo in a clinical trial.

It is possible that a placebo could be given along with the new treatment. But that would only occur if the new treatment was being given along with another drug, and the researchers wanted to see if the two-drug combination had different safety and effects than the one drug alone.

Also, if standard therapy is available, a patient may receive the standard therapy plus the new therapy or the standard therapy plus a placebo. But the patient would never receive the placebo alone.

You can learn more about how and when placebos are used in clinical trials below.