LEWISTON – The results came out in April from the National Cancer Institute, but Gina Temple already knew: The drug Herceptin, taken weekly for a year in an IV drip, had helped rid her body of cancer.

Temple was one of 3,351 breast-cancer patients across the United States – and one of 12 at Central Maine Medical Center – to participate in the blind trial. Half received the drug, half a placebo, in additional to traditional chemotherapy.

“I was so darn lucky,” said Temple, 41, of Gardiner, who discovered the tumor in her breast four years ago.

CMMC’s Hematology Oncology Associates has patients enrolled in ongoing trials for gastrointestinal cancer, lymphoma, prostate and respiratory cancer.

Not everyone fits the criteria of each study, said Dr. Jeffrey Miller, and some patients are reluctant to participate. There’s “skepticism about being a guinea pig.”

“People sometimes are afraid of it. They’re afraid we’re trying to do something just for us. It is for us, but it’s mostly for them. We want to prolong their lives,” he said.

About 20 new people sign up for a trial through his office every year, which represent 2 percent of all of his group’s cancer patients. Miller would like to see that number double.

Temple said she didn’t hesitate to take part in the Herceptin trial. Her attitude at the time was “I’ll take everything I can get.”

St. Mary’s Regional Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders has spent the last year gearing up to restart cancer trials there, and got approval last month. Dr. Amir Modarressi hopes to start enrolling patients this summer in trials for colon and breast cancer.

“I’m very excited for several reasons,” he said. It makes the hospital more competitive and improves care for patients, he said. He added that he’s hoping for a strong patient response.

“We know in oncology we don’t have too many home runs. Only by doing clinical research can we find out what will be the gold standard in cancer treatment for tomorrow,” Modarressi said.