Doctors told T.J. Sharpe that they would be surprised if he was still alive in two years. That conversation occurred five years ago. Clinical trial practitioners helped Sharpe beat the odds. Sharpe says, “You and I can’t cure cancer, but we can help the people who can.” He believes that the industry is “housing the data that can shorten time for (trial) implementation to get treatments out there quickly.”1
Halley Rogers, chair of the education committee at The Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP), believes it is important to include the perspective of the patient at ACRP New York Metropolitan Chapter’s 9th Annual Clinical Research Symposium: The Clinical Research Landscape on October 27. Therefore, Sharpe will be a speaker.
Currently, Sharpe leads a campaign to promote clinical trial participation and education. His first doctor provided information for the trials that didn’t match Sharpe’s specific condition. Physicians at the front end of the clinical trial experience need to be consistently educated on the importance for trials for many patients. Through his campaign, Sharpe learned that hundreds of patients were unaware that clinical trials could be part of their treatment plan.
T.J. Sharpe believes that connecting potential subjects with those already benefiting from trials could advance clinical trial participation. Deciding to participate in a clinical trial is an important and sometimes difficult decision. Please see our research subject resources to help guide your decision.
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1 https://www.acrpnet.org/2017/07/17/cancer-survivor-calls-new-ways-promote-trial-participation/