This feature guides readers—mostly cancer survivors, patients, advocates and caregivers—through the complexities of the informed consent process. The process exists to ensure patients make educated decisions about their own care, but for cancer patients it’s become increasingly complex, due in part to the advent of clinical trials, genetic testing, the issue of tissue donation for research and other advances in research. To further complicate matters, the informed consent process is done differently from institution to institution, and patients may or may not retain rights to their own tissues. A survivor’s voice sets the stage for this feature, which guides readers through many aspects of informed consent—not only when and where it’s used, but also the history of the process and problems with the way it’s carried out now. The article provides informational resources to Cancer Today’s readers, many of whom are facing—or are caring for someone who is facing—a complex treatment plan for a complex disease.
