Harry Waddell is battle hardened. The 76-year-old Bushnell, Illinois, resident spent 24 years in the Army, most of those in Special Forces. But years after completing his service, fate put Harry in the middle of another battle – bladder cancer.
Harry was referred by his primary care doctor to see board certified and fellowship trained Blessing Health urologist Dr. David Lieber. In addition to his practice in Quincy, the doctor sees patients regularly in Macomb, near Harry’s home. Dr. Lieber performed surgery to remove and diagnose the cancer. Bladder cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the United States and predominately affects older men.
At a follow-up appointment after the surgery, Dr. Lieber asked Harry if he would be interested in participating in a clinical trial in which the doctor was involved through Blessing Hospital. The trial was testing a new method to treat bladder cancer. This clinical trial is important because there is a significant, unmet need for alternative treatment options for bladder cancer.
Harry said yes. By saying yes, Harry is helping answer the question of which treatment is more beneficial.
So, Harry makes the 170-mile round-trip from his home in Bushnell to Blessing Hospital as scheduled, to receive treatment as part of the clinical trial.
“I have fallen in love with being able to live,” he said with a smile, answering why he chose to participate in the clinical trial. “I like life too much.”
About clinical trials at Blessing Hospital
Blessing created a Clinical Research Department in 2021. Kiley McGlauchlen, MS, CCRP, is department director. She is responsible for collaborating with industry leaders to find clinical trials in which Blessing can participate.
Ashley Chbeir, BSN, RN, CCRP, is the Clinical Research Coordinator-RN. She works with doctors and coordinates the care for patients in Blessing’s clinical trials. Under the guidance of the doctor and according to the clinical trial protocol, Ashley monitors the patient throughout their healthcare journey.
Doctors are involved in clinical trials depending on their interest, their specialty, and what question the clinical trial is addressing. As a urologist, Dr. Lieber chose to become involved in the bladder cancer clinical trial.
In addition to urology, Blessing has participated in clinical trials involving oncology, cardiology, neurology and pulmonology.
Kiley says Blessing Health doctors have great interest in offering clinical trials to their patients to help expand treatment options.
Why is Blessing Hospital involved in clinical trials? Kiley says a better question is, why not?
“We are already doing great work at Blessing Health. Clinical research is complimentary to the high-quality care we provide,” she observed. “I think any organization across the nation that is providing good care should have clinical research as part of their care pathways.”
The clinical trial process evaluates the safety and effectiveness of new medications before they are commercially available. Every prescription medication on the market today started in a clinical trial. In the past 2 years, over 50 new FDA-approved oncology medications became available to patients.
“The practice of medicine is the compilation of thousands of years of studies of the human body. Without asking questions, the science of medicine will not grow and improve,” Dr. Lieber said.
“Without a department like ours, and patients like Harry, medicine would never advance. We find great value in what we do here,” Ashley said.
“Providing access to clinical trials for our patients in this tri-state region is a passion of ours - offering clinical trials close to home,” Kiley added.
About the patients
In most cases, a patient’s doctor talks with them about their interest in participating in a clinical trial, just as Dr. Lieber did with Harry.
Becoming a clinical trial patient is not as easy as being invited and wanting to participate.
“There are many inclusion and exclusion criteria patients must meet to qualify to participate,” said Ashley. “A patient could meet all of them except for one and would then, unfortunately, not be eligible.”
“There are no exceptions in clinical trials because it would affect the validity of the data. By the time you go through all the required criteria, it becomes a very small patient population. You really end up looking for a needle in a haystack,” she continued.
Kiley and Ashley say most patients who want to participate in a clinical trial feel that they want to impact the future.
“Most patients feel that if they could benefit the next generation, they want to do that,” stated Ashley. “They are very altruistic.”
“The beneficiaries of our work are our children and grandchildren,” added Dr. Lieber.
In addition to altruism, Kiley says clinical trial patients also have other common personal characteristics.
“They are actively involved in making medical decisions that affect them. When participating in a clinical trial there are usually visits in addition to their doctor appointments, so these patients must be compliant and willing to come to all their appointments,” Kiley states.
In return, patients get exceptional care.
“A clinical trial is a stringent, heavily regulated process with safeguards in place to protect the participant,” Kiley continued. “Clinical trial participants are VIPs.”
“In addition to their regular care team, clinical trial patients have the research team looking out for them,” Ashley observed.
Harry agrees. When asked about his experience in being in the clinical trial, he said, “It’s top notch. It’s great care.”
Harry “checks all the boxes”
“He really is the epitome of everything we look for in a clinical trial patient,” Ashley said of Harry. “He is kind and welcoming and has been open to the process from the beginning. Harry travels a great distance to be with us and he does it with a smile on his face. Harry has a great personality. To be the cancer patient and be the happiest one in the room, it speaks to his character,” Ashley concluded.
“Clinical trial participants, like Harry, really are the true, unsung heroes of today, helping to improve upon our medical knowledge for a better tomorrow,” Kiley concluded.
In the photo, left to right, are Kiley McGlauchlen, Dr. David Lieber, Harry Waddle and Ashley Chbeir.