As a volunteer in a clinical trial, you are participating in the development of new medical therapies – therapies that may offer better treatments and even cures for life-threatening and chronic diseases. The hope of personally benefiting from a new treatment or the desire to take part in research that might one day benefit other people is what motivates some people to take part in clinical trials. For patients suffering from a chronic disease, like pemphigus vulgaris, where a good treatment does not currently exist, the need for clinical trial participation is even more critical. Without patients as active clinical trial participants, it makes it more difficult and takes it much longer to make new treatments available.
So, is the risk of participating in a clinical trial worth a benefit that comes with no guarantee for the participant and/or others with the same disease? Ultimately, through a process of information gathering, weighing of the risks and potential benefits, and perhaps some soul searching, the answer will be one only you, the person considering trial participation, can provide.
