Here, you can find any of the interviews on this site.
Alex fractured his heel in 2007. He agreed to take part in a trial comparing surgery with letting the bones heal naturally. He was randomised to the group having surgery, and his heel is slowly recovering.
Alex is a University Lecturer. He is married with 1 child aged 6. Ethnic background/nationality: Russian.
Leslie took part in a placebo-controlled drug trial of rofecoxib (Vioxx) for prostate cancer prevention. He became extremely ill, but doctors monitoring his progress did not pick up his symptoms. He took the drug company to court, and won compensation.
Leslie is a retired lecturer. Married with 4 adult children. Ethnic background/nationality: White British.
Celia took part in a randomised controlled trial comparing different periods of radiotherapy for lymphoma. She was would have preferred the shorter course; she was allocated to the longer course but took part anyway.
Celia is a retired health visitor. She is single. Ethnic background/nationality: White British.
Wendy was invited to take part in a chemotherapy trial after being diagnosed with bowel cancer. She decided to take part, and was allocated to the experimental group. She experienced quite severe side effects but continued to the end of the treatment.
Wendy is a teaching assistant. She’s married with 3 children aged 16, 14 and 14 Ethnic background/nationality: White British.
Jayne had breast cancer aged 33. She wanted to join a clinical trial but her consultant was not interested, so she transferred to another hospital and took part in a trial comparing tamoxifen with tamoxifen plus goserelin (Zoladex).
Jayne is a Consultant orthodontist, married to a GP, with 2 children, aged 8 and 5. Ethnic background/nationality: White British.
Joanna took part in a six-year trial of screening for ovarian cancer. She feels some aspects of the trial were not well managed. Her husband, who had leukaemia and died recently, also took part in trials.
Joanna is an architect. She is widowed, and has three grown-up children Ethnic background/nationality: White British.
Hazel learnt she had breast cancer (DCIS) after screening in 1991. After surgery she was asked to be in a trial comparing no further treatment with radiotherapy, tamoxifen, or radiotherapy and tamoxifen combined. She declined to take part. (You can see Hazel talking more about her experiences on the Healthtalkonline site on Breast cancer screening, Interview 17 & DCIS, Interview 26).
Hazel was formerly a company secretary, and is now an independent advocate for quality in research and healthcare. She is widowed with 2 grown-up children. Ethnic background/nationality: White British.
Lester's son Ellis died in 2001 of variant CJD. Lester later became involved as a lay chair of a trial looking at the effectiveness of a drug called quinacrine for people with variant CJD.
Lester is a business consultant. He is married with 1 adult son. His older son died in 2001. Ethnic background/nationality: White British.
Harry took part in a trial of medication for high blood pressure. He had some side effects early on, but otherwise has been very happy with his care and how well he feels.
Harry is a retired post office worker, widowed with 1 adult daughter. Ethnic background/nationality: White English.
Caroline's first baby was born by emergency caesarean. In her next pregnancy she took part in a trial comparing different types of information and decision aids about birth choices for women after a previous caesarean. She chose to attempt a natural birth.
Caroline used to work as a physiotherapist. She’s married with 2 children aged 5 and 2, to whom she’s now a full-time mother. Ethnic background/nationality: White British.
