"At this point, there isn't anything else we can do for you."

That sentence is one that cancer patients never want to hear their doctor say. It implies a finality, an ending, a loss of hope and a fear-come-true that we never want to face. The fear of hearing those words is something many cancer patients live with every day.

So what do you do when it's your doctor saying something like this to you? How do you react...

By nature, clinical drug trials are something of a gamble. Since the drug itself is either brand new or being used in a brand new way, there's no guarantee of the drug's effectiveness or favorable results. 

This is something that we cancer patients understand from the start. In my case, the decision to participate in a clinical trial for cancer treatment wasn't tough. It was my only remaining option. My chondrosarcoma, a rare...