New and improved treatments for mesothelioma will come about only through clinical trials. Every person diagnosed with mesothelioma should be advised of the availability of clinical trials and be encouraged to participate in those that are appropriate and may provide clinical benefit.

The following resources may help you learn more about clinical trials in general, and about the specific clinical trials now available for people with mesothelioma. There is no single place to call, or Web site to search, that will provide a completely comprehensive listing of all clinical trials for this disease, so we encourage you to explore different resources.

National Cancer Institute

The National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) PDQ clinical trials search form and other information about clinical trials can be found at http://www.cancer.gov/search/clinical_trials/. You can choose "mesothelioma" under the scroll down window for "disease type" to learn about mesothelioma-specific trials listed with the NCI.

Commercial Clinical Trials Finders

As is the case with the other commercial Web sites listed below, the content will include NCI-sponsored and some pharmaceutical company clinical trials. The content of these commercial trial finder sites is likely to depend upon fees the trial finder companies charge the pharmaceutical companies for listing the pharmaceutical company trials and none are completely comprehensive.

Some of these Web sites require personal information for use of their services. Before providing personal information, we encourage you to read their Privacy and Terms of Use statements.

EmergingMed.com (http://www.emergingmed.com/)
Centerwatch (http://www.CenterWatch.com/)
Veritas Medicine (http://www.veritasmedicine.com/) 

SUPPORT &  DISCUSSION

These Web sites can help you connect with others through discussion lists, message boards, online question & answer, or one-on-one matching with trained volunteers.

Association of Cancer Online Resources (ACOR) (http://www.acor.org/)
Here you'll find online discussions for people with a variety of diseases, including mesothelioma. Also news updates regarding cancer.

Cancer Answers (https://www.moffitt.usf.edu/canceranswers/)
Cancer Answers at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute is a national toll-free cancer information service staffed by registered nurses. Cancer Answers staff assist callers throughout Florida and the United States with answers to their questions, provide current information related to cancer research, treatment, and community resources. Call (800) 456-7121.

Cancer Care, Inc. (http://www.cancercare.org/)
Offers online social workers to answer questions and provide guidance, educational materials and telephone support groups, and direct support to people in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Cancer Hope Network (http://www.cancerhopenetwork.org/)
A not-for-profit organization that provides free and confidential one-on-one support to cancer patients and their families. They provide that support by matching cancer patients and/or family members with trained volunteers who have undergone and recovered from a similar cancer experience.

drkoop.com (http://www.drkoop.com/)
This site is a rich source for health information, offering articles and advice on a wide range of medical topics including cancer. Additionally, drkoop.com includes personalized medical news, an index of health sites on the Web, "Health and Wellness" centers, an interactive pharmacy, an "Ask Dr. Koop" message board, and more. Includes information about malignant mesothelioma.

Patient Advocate Foundation (http://www.patientadvocate.org/)
Provides education, legal counseling, and referrals to cancer patients and survivors concerning managed care, insurance, financial issues, job discrimination and debt crisis matters. They have national and state-by-state listings for help with housing, utilities, transportation to medical treatment, pharmaceutical agents, home health care, and more.