"Today, I feel wonderful," Claire, 78, says emphatically. A couple of years ago, however, she was told by another cancer center doctor that her time was limited and there was nothing they could do for her. But Claire didn't buy it. She beat thyroid cancer back in 1972, and she has lost an eye to glaucoma, but she has not let that slow her down in any way. "You never give up -- you start taking really good care of yourself -- and read," she says.
Applying for a part-time job may have saved Claire's life. After retiring and feeling a bit "wishy-washy" with her life, she put in an application at a nursing home. A chest x-ray was required since she was a new employee. She was told the x-ray showed "something." So off to the doctor she went -- immediately -- and a CT scan confirmed lung cancer.
Here's where the reading comes in. There were many articles about clinical trials and H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in the newspapers at the time. "I started reading everything I could possibly read. Moffitt kept popping up in the papers, so I called them up." She told them she wanted to be in a study. As it turned out, Claire was perfectly suited for a clinical trial.
More than a year later she is alive and doing very well, beating the statistics. She knew nothing about trials before heading to Moffitt, and she believes a higher power was looking out for her. She has been treated at some high profile places, she says, but Moffitt is the best.
Her five watchful children (they speak with her daily) supported her decision to join a study. Being part of a clinical trial is "wonderful," she says. Claire has to understand everything that is happening to her; being knowledgeable puts her at ease. At Moffitt, she never has any doubts about her treatment, she says,because the doctors and staff explain everything, multiple times.
She likes that. "They make my life easier," she says of her medical team."You are fortunate to get into a study, because they are going to go as far as they can go to learn more and help you."
"You should never hesitate to get into a study, I highly recommend it," Claire says very strongly. Without hesitation she says, "Cancer does not mean I'm gonna die,it means what am I going to do next?"
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