Oh Mary Beth, so sorry to hear about your mother!! She is very fortunate to have you in her corner.
Where are you located geographically? And where is she being treated currently? Some of our members may be able to chime in with suggestions for a second opinion.
You will want to be sure that she is being treated at a center that treats a LOT of bladder cancer patients and therefore is familiar with relatively unusual cases such as your mother's. Many urologists see mostly prostate cancers, not bladder cancer. A university medical center or an NIH cancer center is often a good start.
On our Home page, at the very top, click on HELP and you will find a list which includes "Treatment Center Finder."
bladdercancersupport.org/bladder-cancer-help/resources/treatment-center-finder
As for Clinical Trials, there are good ones and then some that I, personally, feel are not so good. Questions to consider:
Who is sponsoring this trial?
What, exactly, is the goal of the trial?
What evidence is there that the approach taken in the trial is BETTER than currently available therapies? Different is not always better.
Is there a GOOD reason to believe that a currently available and tested treatment would not be successful?
Some clinical trials are really at the frontier of treatment and may offer exciting alternatives to current treatment. However, many are sort of "me too"
where there is a slight modification of a current drug or treatment. If you are at a really good medical center, that is the first criteria.
Wishing you and your mother the very best....
Sara Anne
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