Assignment
Read the reading for Harriet's case first, and then answer the following three questions (each answer should be at least one paragraph long).
Question 1:
This case is slightly different from all the other cases we looked at. This case looks at the questionable topic of CLINICAL TRIALS. On a smaller view it is about testing certain drugs and/or treatments. We all know that quite a bit of testing is done on animals. Whether we agree with this or not one has to ask this question: CAN THE RESULTS OF AN ANIMAL TEST APPLY TO HUMANS?
Question 2:
The one condition that we see in the press and other readings is CANCER. It is not the most common condition but it can be fatal. The treatments are difficult and don't always work. So, the drug companies are searching for either a cure or a treatment that is not so toxic. WHY ARE THEY DOING THIS?
Question 3:
ANSWER THIS QUESTION: Finding a cure or treatment for CA is what everyone wants, or do they? REASONS PLEASE
Patient Offered New Cancer Treatment
Harriet Abeline had faced bad news before. She was diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago and underwent a lumpectomy and radiation treatment. Two years later, a routine mammogram revealed another lump. She faced this challenge with similar treatment.
Harriet understood medicine; for years she had worked as a recruiter for a major drug company interviewing and hiring scientists and physicians. The company was a reputable and honest business and developed drugs that were used all over the world.
So with each recurrence of cancer, she researched her situation and the available drugs being used for treatment. With each Google search, she read about the experimental treatments that were available for end-stage breast cancer, keeping them in the back of her mind.
Now, as her doctor told her that the cancer had spread to her bones, Harriet was frightened. Dr. Hill understood her fear. She had been working with cancer patients for years and lately, had been using some of the newer treatments available for late-stage cancers.
She told Harriet that she could enter an FDA phase 2 clinical trial for a new genetically engineered drug that would target her specific type of tumor. Harriet knew that phase 2 trials are designed to test for side effects and risks of the treatment. She also knew there was no guarantee that the treatment would cure her cancer.