Taking stock - how are we doing on the cancer clinical trials blog

Recently, we got a nice review from the Journal of Clinical Research Best Practices and got selected for their "Bookshelf."  It's not the first nice review, but the first one in a little while after the initial reviews that come at the time of publication. Seeing this review got me thinking that it might be a good time to take stock of how we are doing.   In short, pretty well.  Our blog has been up and running since the beginning of the year and our book was published in May.  The book has been doing well with total sales approaching 10,000 copies.  Several partners have purchased the book in quantity to distribute to cancer patients as an educational resource.  In addition to that, regular folks are buying the books at bookstores at a good clip.  Our hope for the book was not to necessarily sell a lot of copies right away, but to establish the book as the go to resource for folks interested in clinical trials, a resource that will be an enduring one for years to come.  Time will tell, but we are off to a good start.

The blog recently crossed 20,000 page views.  A blip when compared to the giants, but a pretty good showing for us.  The most popular part of the blog...by a mile...Larry's cartoons.

Recently we launched a new effort.  It's a little ways away from being realized, but we are working on a pediatric version of our book.  It won't really be a kids book, but more a book for parents of kids with cancer.  Clinical trials are a part of cancer care for nearly 2/3 of kids diagnosed with the disease.  The principles are similar, but many things are a little different.  Not a lot of kids insured by Medicare, for example...  We are fortunate to have recruited Dr. Stacy Nicholson, Physician-in-chief at the Doernbecher Childrens' Hospital to help us refashion our book for the world of pediatric oncology.
So thank you for visiting our blog, considering our book and being a part of our community, focused on sharing knowledge about cancer clinical trials.


To put a smile on your face see Larry's latest cartoon.
To learn more about clinical trials, take a look at our book.
(c) 2012 Tom Beer and Larry Axmaker

Cancer Clinical Trials: how to follow our blog

If you are a seasoned blog reader, you may wish to skip this post.  If you are new to the world of blogging, you may be just discovering how to follow the blog.  Here are your options:

1. Email.  The simplest way.  Just register your email in the subscribe by email box.  You will get an email with each new post.  We will never use your email for any other purpose.
2. Join the blog and become a follower.  New posts will appear in your Google Reader and Blogger Reading List.  You will not get an email.  This is a great option if you are a regular user of the Reader or Reading List, but you will get left out if you rely on email for reminders.
3. Subscribe by RSS.  Many email programs have an RSS option.  New blog posts will appear in your RSS inbox.  This is similar to subscribing by email, but instead of mixing the blog posts with your regular email, it segregates them into a separate RSS inbox.  You can subscribe by RSS by clicking the subscribe in a reader icon or you can do it from your email program.  In your email program, look for the add RSS feeds tool and paste in the following URL:  http://feeds.feedburner.com/cancer-clinical-trials.
4. Follow us on Facebook.  Go to our Facebook page at Cancer Clinical Trials on Facebook.  Once you are on our page, click the "Like" button.  Our posts will appear in your Facebook newsfeed.
5. Follow us via Twitter.  Look for the Twitter button on the right hand side.  All our blog posts go out on Tom's twitter feed. 

We plan to post new articles once or twice a week, so whatever option you choose, we hope to  inform you but not overwhelm you.


To put a smile on your face see Larry's latest cartoon