Since many cancer medications may be vital to one's survival but are not yet available except through research, McLeod participates in state-of-the-art cancer research trials for prevention and treatment of cancer through medication. For 25 years, the McLeod Cancer Research Department has made these clinical trials available to eligible patients in the Pee Dee, Grand Strand and a portion of North Carolina.

McLeod’s participation in cancer research is supported through its association with the Southeast Cancer Control Consortium, a group of community hospitals in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and Tennessee. McLeod also collaborates in research with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the Southwest Oncology Group, the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) - a clinical trials cooperative group supported by NCI, Cancer & Leukemia Group B (CALGB), another national clinical research group sponsored by NCI, and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).

After clinical trials are developed by physicians, they are then reviewed by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Upon receiving NCI approval, trials are released to the institutional review boards of participating hospitals. The McLeod Research department continues to follow approximately 200 patients who are participating in research through McLeod, including one patient that has been followed since 1989.

What you should know about participating in reasearch