Clinical trials can be lifesaving – and you’re helping make them possible

Associate Professor Geoff McCowage has dedicated his entire career to not only treating kids with cancer as a doctor but working behind the scenes in the lab to develop new and more effective treatments. He says:

Seeing too many children’s lives cut short is a powerful motivation, but then seeing other kids surviving cancer who even just a few years ago wouldn’t have survived is incredible – that really shows me we’re making a difference.

One of the most exciting parts of research, Geoff says, is clinical trials – the stage where real kids fighting cancer in hospital get access to the newest treatments available. He continues to say:

We get to see if that treatment can save more kids like Toby. It’s not a case of rolling the dice as many people think; rather, years of expert lab studies have gotten us to the stage of a clinical trial.

In fact, we know that kids who are treated for cancer as part of a clinical trial have a higher chance of survival than those who aren’t.

One child to recently be enrolled on a clinical trial is one-year-old Toby, who’s being treated with an exciting new targeted drug. Previously, his treatment involved intense rounds of chemotherapy for a tumour on his left arm, leaving his parents with the heartbreaking decision to either have his arm amputated or continue with the harsh chemo.

It's still not clear if the new drug will make Toby’s tumour go away completely, but for now the results are promising and his tumour is shrinking! Currently, amputation is not being considered after his two rounds of the new drug, he’ll continue receiving it for the foreseeable future in the hope he’ll continue responding. As Associate Professor McCowage says:

Being able to give children those new treatments means that we can look mothers like Toby’s in the eye and tell them their precious child is getting the very best and newest treatment in the world. They couldn’t go to Paris, or London or New York and access something better – they’re getting the best here in Australia thanks to gifts from people like you.

But sadly, it’s not always that simple. Trial drugs aren’t appropriate for every child, and even when they are, lack of funding holds researchers back, Associate Professor McCowage continues:

All too often, there are times when we can’t do research or open trials to use new treatments and help kids like Toby. Even if a research trial’s potential is truly revolutionary, sometimes we simply do not have the resources to do it.

Not being able to run those trials or new research projects because of a lack of money is truly heartbreaking − it means kids like Toby might miss out on a potentially lifesaving new drug.