Mel Mann, 31-year terminal Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) Survivor, Clinical Trial Pioneer, and Patient Advocate, shared on X:
“I entered a clinical trial in the mid-1990s when the rules around who got included in research were still changing.
I was given three years to live. That trial, and the targeted therapy that came from it, gave me 31 years and counting.
Reading the history of how women were systematically left out of clinical trials for decades is a reminder that progress in research has never been automatic. Representation matters. Sex differences in how drugs work matter. Who gets invited into the trial can decide who gets the benefit later.
We’ve come a long way since the old exclusion policies, but the work of making trials truly inclusive is still unfinished. Every patient who gets the chance to participate – and every group that used to be left out – moves the science forward for the next person.”
Other articles featuring Mel Mann on OncoDaily.