7. What about anxiety?
Fears about reactions or other health concerns are natural, and for some, these are a clear barrier to participating in a clinical trial. You know your child, and yourself, and what those limits are. Your GP and other care providers can also help to get a sense of whether it is psychologically appropriate to go forward with a trial. And remember that, if your child undertakes a study, fears about getting an unwanted result (being disqualified, etc.) can also come into play. Pressure to succeed could lead your child to hide their feelings (and their reactions). Your allergist should be modeling a low-pressure approach, which hopefully everyone will adopt.
8. Is the experimental therapy scientifically valid?
Does it seem worth the risk to you? There are certain therapies that have no medical value and are dangerous (NAET and chelation, for example). But keep in mind that for any experimental treatment, there is risk and you are entitled to feel and express all your questions, even doubts. As a physician, your allergist should give you clear answers (and cite peer-reviewed studies). Good scientists trust facts over magical thinking. No one should be offended by your questions or see them as negative.
Nor should you; you can be a pragmatist and still be optimistic. In fact, you can even be pessimistic and it actually won’t impact the scientific outcomes of the trial… at all! Whether you are thoughtful, skeptical or otherwise, there are many paths to take in considering to enter a clinical trial. Hope most certainly is not the only option, and hope — on it own — is clearly not even the best option.
NOTE: I am not a medical professional. The perspective above is very much a layman (or laymom’s) perspective.
Republished with permission from Anne King’s blog May Contain.
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