Celebrate the Season of Giving: Be a Medical Research Volunteer

Many of the medicines, devices and treatments improving health or saving lives today came about because of medical research.

Jo Marie Reichel, teacher and cancer research volunteer.

Those looking for ways to give back to others during the holiday season should consider becoming a research volunteer.

“Medical advancements are not possible without the generosity and cooperation of the people who volunteered to take part in research,” says Graham Long, M.D., a vascular surgeon who is also medical director of the Surgical Clinical Trials Office at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak.

Patients at Beaumont were part of research that led to vitamin eye drops for macular degeneration; angioplasty as the best first-line treatment for heart attacks; and surgery being judged as good as stents for blocked neck arteries.

Today, women with early-stage breast cancer are part of national research at Beaumont to see if radiation administered in a shorter time frame is just as effective as weeks of treatment.

There are definite advantages to taking part in research, says Dr. Long. Patient participants are more involved in their health care and can get closer scrutiny from medical professionals, in addition to having access to the latest medicines and treatments before they’re widely available.

“There’s also an element of helping others or leaving a legacy,” says radiation oncologist John Robertson, M.D., principal investigator of Beaumont Health System’s Community Clinical Oncology Program, or CCOP. Beaumont was designated as a CCOP nine years ago to give people in the community more access to national cancer research trials without having to travel to large medical centers.

Beaumont's joint simulator tests wear on artificial hips.

Beaumont’s Cancer Clinical Trials Office has enrolled more than 6,000 people in more than 250 research studies to date. About 80 cancer clinical trials are currently enrolling participants at Beaumont. And earlier this year, Beaumont hired health educator Toni Griggs Price to help increase enrollment among minorities in cancer clinical trials. Minority research participation overall has lagged in the United States for a number of reasons.

Other research at Beaumont involves studying substances, devices and implants. For example, the Orthopedic Surgery department has a machine that can simulate wear on artificial hips or other implants. This research may lead to improvements that make hip implants last longer.

Clinical trials are easy to locate as most medical institutions offer them, and several search sites offer information about the studies. While patients can refer themselves to trials, it is always important to discuss clinical research participation with your doctor first.

You can find out about clinical research trials at Beaumont by calling 248-551-0650.