One thing that I have realized visiting hospitals recently is that as a patient you always need to advocate for yourself. When you go to a hospital, most of the time they are going to tell you the treatment plan based on what they have and not cover on any other drugs or treatment that might be available at other healthcare facilities in the country or across the world. However, when you are suffering from cancer, sometimes what your hospital offers might not be enough.
As a Cancer patient family member, I found that during conversations with the treatment team that it was really hard to know what all treatments are available for a specific type of cancer, are there any experimental treatments going on, as well as what treatment usually people go for tailored down to their type of cancer, immunochemistry as well as stage.
So I started looking up online if there was any tool available that would help me navigate through what treatments are available and also see what people have tried with what results. That’s when I came across Trialjectory!
Trialjectory is a free online tool that not only helps you provide information on what clinical trials are available but also provides a tools to find personalized treatments for the cancer that you or your family member has.
To get started you would create your medical profile, where you answer a bunch of questions regarding your cancer like when it started, what type of cancer it is, at what stage, where has the disease spread, any kind of genetic testing you have, and any kind of medical procedures you have had. Trialjectory asks these questions to show you trials, and treatments available specifically for your cancer.
Once you finish the questionnaire, you are taken to a page that shows you all treatments are available for your cancer that you have not received yet. It also provides you insights on what has been the outcome from other patients who have the same type of cancer as yours and what treatment they received.
The really good thing about the treatment finder is that as long as you have enough information about your cancer, you can look up really targeted treatment and also be able to make an informed decision as to what procedure or drugs should be given to you. Trialjectory also lets you know how many people discontinued the treatment due to side effects as some of the chemotherapy/immunotherapy drugs can really have a big toll on your body.
Another important thing about the tool is to be able to see what clinical trials are available. When I checked the tool was able to list clinical trials from US and Canada. If you outside US/Canada then this tool can still provide you some information on drugs/treatments available which you can then follow up with healthcare professionals in your country if they have something similar.
I think the personalized cancer trials information is a lot better than sometimes sifting on clinical trials website to see what treatment you would be eligible for. Also it can save you a lot of time and effort as the information on trials website is sometimes really hard to understand. Though I must say that the information available on their website might not be complete for your type of cancer as the gather data from patients using the website. It’s a great tool to refer to but don’t rely on it 100% as you can always find more information about cancer somewhere else!
Always consult with healthcare professionals for treatment decisions.
Tom Mehra, an Ottawa-based Software Engineer with a Masters in Information Systems from the University of Texas at Dallas, shares insights on local food spots and top attractions in Canada and the US. He’s also a former resident of the US, UK, and India, and in 2023, his blog was nominated for an Ottawa Award by Faces Magazine. He is also a cat sitter.