In Memoriam: Clark Stringham passed away in September 2019. We honor his memory and are grateful he shared his story.
Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) patient Clark Stringham credits a clinical trial and his oncologist, Neeraj Agarwal, MD, with saving his life. Clark participates in a clinical trial for advanced prostate cancer at HCI.
"It gave me hope," he says. "I felt like I was running out of time until I came to Dr. Agarwal. We've gone way beyond that, nine years now, which is phenomenal. I give Dr. Agarwal a lot of credit. His passion for his work is infectious."
Dr. Agarwal, professor of medicine, looks to clinical trials to give his patients with advanced prostate cancer the best care options possible.
"We have to invest in research," says Dr. Agarwal. "We are not only entrusted with improving survival, we are equally entrusted with improving quality of life. So how can we get those cutting-edge drugs with fewer side effects to our patients? Clinical trials."
Clark feels fortunate to have an oncologist show such care and concern for his patients. "When my wife told Dr. Agarwal that we had gone dancing, he shouted 'That's what it's all about! The quality of life of my patients,'" Clark remembers. "He has so much passion for what he does."
Along with matching patients with the best treatment option, Dr. Agarwal has seen great success in engaging grateful patients like Clark to support research at HCI. Private philanthropy is key to finding answers to the next questions in cancer treatments, drug discovery and development, and clinical research.
"I always tell our patients how important philanthropy is," Dr. Agarwal says. "Clark was so generous with his efforts, and we will be ever grateful for his support of our program."
Learn more about clinical trials at HCI.