Around the world, patients and their families, in the face of a cancer diagnosis, wish for and seek out the best, state-of-the-art treatment. In this commentary, the story of one patient in the USA draws attention to what extent demand and expectations for treatment may go, and to the legal decisions and regulatory processes that may intervene to clarify the rights of patients and the protection of patients. In India, in 1999, a set of cancer patients was enrolled in an unauthorised clinical drug trial that, when discovered, raised the question of whowithin the rules guiding clinical trial researchwas responsible for safeguarding these patients.