Our neuro-oncologist at the University of Minnesota gave us the contact information for the Brain Tumor Network. I emailed them right away, as it looked like my brother’s glioblastoma tumor might be recurring. Once we requested their services, the Brain Tumor Network requested the necessary medical records to begin navigating for clinical trials.
Within days, our patient navigator, Laura Hynes, provided us with various Phase II and Phase III trials. Unfortunately, my brother was not eligible for the poliovirus trial at Duke University or the virus trials at MD Anderson in Texas. However, we made travel plans to MD Anderson for a second opinion. The Brain Tumor Network coordinated all of this for us. As a result, MD Anderson will be a future resource for my brother if any clinical trials become available, but in the meantime, the University of Minnesota is doing exactly what standard of care entails.
I have only good things to say about the Brain Tumor Network. They were able to provide me with a real person to help navigate the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the clinical trials maze. In addition, their multidisciplinary team provides options about what could be explored next, and they have contacts at various brain tumor centers to get records sent in a timely fashion. I would highly recommend them to anyone dealing with this terrible, life-altering cancer!