As some of you know, I recently lost my lovely wife of 32 years to the deadly disease, pancreatic cancer. Several major things have come out of her painful struggle, however. One big one is the hows and whys of how clinical trials are carried out in these United States. TALK ABOUT A WAKE UP CALL FOR MY WIFE AND I!!!

When she was first diagnosed (that's another story for another time....) her doctors met with the tumor board at the hospital and they recommended two courses of treatment for her:

1. Chemotherapy

2. Radiation therapy.

which "might" hopefully lead to....

3. Surgery

I believed there might be a better course of action so I found the RenovoRx program for treating pancreatic cancer. I contacted RenovoRx concerning my wife's situation. RenovoRx approved her for their Phase 3 clinical trial. I called and made an appointment for my wife. For some reason, the pancreatic cancer created periods of high anxiety for my wife.

The day of her appointment she woke up and said she did not feel up to traveling the three hour drive to the appointment. So, I called the clinic and cancelled and said we would reschedule.

Right after that, the pain from the tumor pressing on the nerves in her back became overwhelming along with severe AFIB so she went into the hospital. During her hospital stay, I managed to get her another appointment with the clinic carrying on the phase 3 renovorx clinical trial.

After she was discharged from the hospital myself and a friend transported my wife to the clinic carrying on the phase 3 renovorx trial on the day of her appointment. The doctor was VERY excited about getting her started on the Phase 3 renovorx clinical trial. My wife was excited and so was I.

We came back home, three days later I received a call from the clinic. Renovorx had decided to DROP/DISMISS my wife from the phase 3 clinical trial!!! Why? Because they said it had been more than 11 weeks since renovorx had FIRST referred her for the phase 3 clinical trial!! What?

I still have all the emails from Renovorx, no where did they say there was an 11 week time deadline to get my wife in to be seen. Thinking back on it, what they should have said is this: "We are sending an ambulance to your house to take your wife to the clinic so they can begin treatments TODAY"

CANCER IS A 911 EMERGENCY, do not let anyone fool you, CANCER WAITS FOR NO ONE. And yet, the health care system treats it as if you just got a bump on your big toe.......We have an opening in our schedule three months from now, will that work for you??

I really did not want to relay the message to my wife because I knew it would be emotionally overwhelming to her.....however, I knew I needed to. She was devastated by the news....

As luck would have it, she was hospitalized yet a second and third time at a different hospital for the severe back pain caused by the tumor pressing on the nerves in her back along with severe AFIB. During her stay at that hospital, I ran into a doctor who was affiliated with the clinic involved with the RenovoRX Clinical Trials programs. Here is what she shared with me:

"ANY patient can be dismissed from ANY clinical trial for ANY reason at ANY time - it doesn't have to be a good reason, either".

Re-read that one. In these United States, $1.4 billion dollars is spent annually TRYING to recruit new patients into clinical trials. Clinical Trials are how medicine better learns how to treat diseases and ailments, right?

And yet, after spending $1.4 billion dollars to RECRUIT new patients, they can and do summarily dismiss patients from their clinical trials!!!!!

Pavlov's Dog experiments come to mine. Promise the patient a possible solution to their health problem. Then, drop them like a bowling ball.

One thing for sure, if I ever find myself fighting any cancer, the last place I will turn to is a Phase 1, 2 or 3 clinical trial.....