Patients with cancer living in regional locations experience several disadvantages including lower survival rates than their metro counterparts.
Deficiencies can include socioeconomic issues, access to treatment or therapies, and clinical trial availability.
To participate in a clinical trial, regional patients need to travel to a metro location, often costing time and money as well as social disruption.
“My mum is 76, she insists on coming to each treatment I have and each doctor’s appointment and having to travel down to Melbourne each time was really, really hard on her and hard on me to see her having to go through that,” Sharon and her mum live in Bendigo and have travelled to Melbourne for Sharon to participate in a cancer clinical trial.
Teletrials are an opportunity to overcome disparities; avoiding the need to travel, enabling access to new treatments and improving patient outcomes.
The VCCC Teletrials Program also addresses barriers to support mechanisms for regional oncologists, enabling networking and improving capability.
Do you have a question about the teletrials structure, a clinical trials idea or want to get involved? Contact VCCC Program Manager, Alana Donaldson via email [email protected]
