A research study is a careful project done by medical professionals and their study volunteers to learn more about a problem or to answer a question. Cancer studies help doctors and researchers find better ways to prevent, diagnose, or treat the advance of cancer. Cancer studies are done to find the best way to treat an illness, to prevent an illness or to give care to the person with cancer. Some studies may test to see if a product, such as a drug or new equipment, is safe and effective in humans. This new product may be compared to a different treatment for the same condition to see which treatment is better. A current treatment may be studied again to see if it is safe and effective for a new and different condition. Other studies are done to find out what health practices work best. For example, a health practice study would compare two different ways to do the same surgery. Still other studies may use a survey or an interview to understand the needs, problems or feelings of people with cancer so that they may be served better.

As different as these studies sound, all research studies have some basic things in common. They all represent a new idea in care that needs more testing in humans before the benefits, if any, are known for sure. Because a new idea carries with it known and unknown risks, all of these studies have been carefully planned and reviewed to make sure that the most good will be done with the least amount of harm. Special rights and safeguards are put into place to protect the people who have agreed to take part in research.

All of the advances in cancer health care today have been built from the answers provided by research studies. These answers are the result of long and careful work done by the members of research teams and the generosity of the research volunteers. Only with careful research will we be able to help ourselves and generations to come to live longer, healthier lives.