Dr. Stanislaw R. Burzynski

thenewme

Hi Jaboroboson, in fact some of us here have watched the film and researched Dr. Burzynski.  I know he has supporters for whatever reason, but at least in my personal research, I have yet to find even one single credible expert who endorses him or his work.  I may rely on customer testimonials for the best pizza sauce or the best hand lotion, but when it comes to something as serious as the treatment of cancer, I look to data and facts. 

There's a very good reason Burzynski's treatments aren't FDA approved for general use; the same reason they aren't covered by insurance.  They're unscientific and unproven.

apple

there is plenty of info re Burzynski, his methods, treatments, etc. on the web.  Please read them before claiming otherwise. 

supervised by the FDA  - i must laugh.

cycle-path

I've been reading this and another thread about Dr. Burzynski and wanted to make a comment. Like many here (but not all) I had a garden-variety, very treatable BC and am planning to find something else to die from (in about 40 years). I've known women who opted for non-traditional BC treatments but that's not my style. I've never even tried chiropractic or acupuncture.

However, I have a friend with glioblastoma, a brain cancer for which the average survival after diagnosis is 14 months. From what I understand, a fair number of glioblastoma patients find their way to Dr. Burzynski.

Glioblastoma is 100% fatal, so the question for someone diagnosed with it is not "if" but "when." If I had Glioblastoma or a similar cancer I'd probably try Burzynski, or leeches, or a witch doctor, or anything. 

My point is that I think it's one thing to embrace a non-traditional approach when one has something readily treatable by traditional medicine, and quite another thing to go to Burzynski or another non-traditional practicioner when traditional medicine provides no hope for your condition.

TerriD

My sister just saw him in October. The consult was over $2000, and she still hasnt gotten all teh bills yet from the teats etc he had done at his facility. She is stage 4 BC, its in her liver HER+, ER+, all he had to offer was CHEMO...

TerriD

PS This is an exact quote from his clinic for her (word for word), it will give you an idea of the pricing: hugs Terri in MI

"There is no definite set cost for your treatment due to the
variation of medications involved; however, below is a range of the estimated costs involved.

There is no guarantee that your insurance company will pay the claim. Since we are
classified as "out of network" we are unable to accept Medicare, Medicaid and any HMO insurance,and require each patient to pay deposits for all services rendered.

Patient must be able to pay:Financial Requirements:

a. $500.00 ----- Medical Records Review fee, paid prior to appointment date

b. $1,000.00 --- Consultation fee

c. $4,000.00 --- Laboratory deposit

d. $10,000.00-- Medical Services deposit

e. $5,000.00 - $15,000.00--Medication costs (in some cases cost may exceed
this range)

f. $4,500.00 --Monthly Case Management Fee

The Physicians of the Burzynski Clinic will order specific Genetic Tumor
Markers Tests. Once they receive these test results, they will determine a personalized therapy
which will best treat your cancer. Treatment plans may include several medications. Sometimes the costs for the medications can be high, because the FDA has just recently approved some of
these medications.

When you are discharged to go home, the monthly case management fee is
$4,500.00, plus medications. The average treatment time for most patients generally ranges
from 4 to 12 months."

FireKracker

Good think im not rich!!!!!!

cycle-path

Last night I was listening to an interesting episode of "This American Life." If you'd like, you can hear it here: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/450/so-crazy-it-just-might-work

It's about a guy who has discovered something that could cure cancer, but it's probably not going to become an approved treatment because he's sort of unwilling to be involved in the kind of rigorous scientific validation that it would take to get the treatment recognized and accepted. 

scuttlers

This "doctor's" treatments are VERY FAR from alternative, natural, holistic, or homeopathic!!!! (re: Burz not the other link)



And that fee schedule (looks like about $20,500+ for the first month) is definitely making someone a very rich man.

luv_gardening

Stage IV BC + Scientific and proven "standard of care" treatments = certain death after much suffering.

Let's all hope the cure is well on the way as there isn't much hope otherwise.  I don't care who the cure comes from. All attempts should be registered and recorded in a central place where we can make a proper assessment of the treatment.  No government, organisation or group should have exclusive rights to treat people as long as they aren't harming us more than the standard of care would.  Most treatments can't be worse than the above inevitable formula which for some bizzare reason is regarded as the correct and recommended course of action.  

Bless all of us for having to bear this ongoing fear, and for the researchers, experimenters, well meaning health workers, carers and fundraisers etc who try to help us. Take care friends. We're all in this together so let's all hope for a cure.

rosemary-b

I don't care who the cure comes from either but if this man has the cure where are the articles in the peer reviwed jounals? Why has he made so much money with this and not been able to prove to my oncologist, who does not want to see his patients die, that it works?

Anonymous

Apple or Scuttlers,

Would either one of you be so kind  to address the misconceptions of Joy's opinion which she states as fact:

JoyLiesWithin wrote:

Stage IV BC + Scientific and proven "standard of care" treatments = certain death after much suffering.

luv_gardening

Yes please.  I'd love to be proven wrong.  Crossing all my fingers and toes.

Kathy044

Well if this helps any, my husband, who was dx with BC (Bladder Cancer) in 2009, is now Stage IV.  He suffered (pain, fever, bleeding) before starting chemo but after only one cycle  of treatment was able to stop all pain medication. There is a reason Stage IV chemotherapy is sometimes titled "Palliative". PM me if you want to discuss this more. It's been a looong year.

luv_gardening

Sorry to hear of your dear husband's illness Kathy. The ladies on the stage IV threads often say they're glad to be finished with chemo so maybe they'll feel normal for the few days or weeks left with their loved ones.  Maybe their experience is different from their expectations.  I'm not against chemo or conventional treatments, but I think the oncologists seem to downplay their lack of success.  The media often talks of breakthroughs which turns out to be an extra 3 to 6 months.  I'm sure that is precious time for people to spend with family but until they can cure us I think the field should be open to others who may end up finding a cure.

Take care all, I'm off to bed as it's gone 1am here in Australia. 

TerriD

I speak her not just a as a patient but as a family member/caregiver. Me, my mom, and sister and hubby have all had cancer twice each in the past 10 years. I just saw my oncologist and was talking to her about my sister who is stage 4 and refusing treatment. I think she is still doing the tamoxifien which is making her exhausted and causing body aches (side effects etc) BUT at last scan was not shrinking tumors. You see my sister is of the mind set, "its in my liver, I don't want my children to see me whither away and suffer, so I will just do the best I can for the time I have left"...BUT she did go see this Dr B in TX...and then refused his treatment because he was talking about drugs not prescribed for premenopausal women, plus the cost was astronomical AND he was just going to do chemo --- just like her regular oncologist. 

My sister refuses chemo, which I do not understand cause Tamoxifen IS chemo too, but just in pill form. Now she refuses all scans, and was coughing alot, so we suspect it has gone to her lungs (her stage 4 was dx'd in her liver last April). My oncologist was so upset when she heard that my sister is actively dying.  She said she has many stage 4's who go on and off chemo and are healthy and still working and are active and positive mindsets and are OK...not knocking on deaths door like my sister thinks happens when you do chemo.  

Speaking as a family member who is a cancer survivor, and not intending to upset anyone here who is sick...Frankly I am pissed off, ok now I will rant for a minute, that chemo has gotten such a bad-rap.

I AM ALIVE!!!!!!!! I have had chemo twice (total about 14 months)...Tamoxifen (if you ask me) SUCKS, but yet my sister thinks that chemo is worse, and (for me) it was not. Chemo was tolerable, I worked thru it all, and many do also. Tamoxifen (for me) was debilitating (I was in bed for years!!!!) and yet THIS (which is NOT working) is her only chosen treatment, and she is dying, (IMHO-needlessly). We have all tried begging her, and encouraging her, but yet she wouldn't even give it a shot to see if it would work...and her daughters are so young.

Now, I KNOW IT IS HER CHOICE, but what I am saying is NOBODY knows what is going to work on YOU, but to not try...???  It is just very very sad, for us, her family, to see her so sick and just letting herself go...

I am the oldest, a fighter, she was the youngest and was always treated with gentleness, we have two very different personalities, for sure. When I was sick, I was very very sick, and had I not had young children I would have probably considered stopping treatment, so I get it... BUT she never even gave it a shot.

PS My oncologist was so upset that my sister would entertain Dr B (who by the way ripped my sister off for about 5 grand---NOT he does not take stage 4's, but yet he let her waste her time and money on a consult).  and all he offered her was chemo -and according to my oncologist, those are "old" chemo's that are no longer being used, that have been improved on and changed.

The side effects of chemo are ERXTREMELY manageable these days, its is not all "pain and suffering" and then you die. Its easy to conceive that that is what it is, but hat is not necessarily the case.  I am angry; my sister is only 42...hugs terri

AnneW

I am sorry for what you and your family are going through, Terri. This is a horrible disease, and people die regardless of their choice of treatment. Support your sis as best you can. Get Hospice involved when it seems time. Chemo at this point may buy her time, but she's looking at perceived quality of life, and it's HER perception.

Again, love her and support her. And vent all you need to.

TerriD

I know, but its so hard. cancer sucks!

sweetbean

Oh, TerriD, I'm really sorry for what your family is going through!  I'm pretty skeptical of Burzynski - that fee schedule is WAY too high to be legit.  Just wanted to say one thing, though - Tamoxifen is not chemo.  It is a hormonal treatment - it does not kill cancer cells the way chemo does.  

MsBliss

My integrative oncologist is $400 for a 30 min. consult. The integrative Oncologist at UCLA was $350 for a 50 min consult, and that was three years ago; it was comprehensive, also helpful, but most of what I got to take home and read was a print out from a separate internet site.  None of them are covered by insurance.  If Dr B's fee is $600 for several hours of records review and an office visit, comparatively, it is not out of reason. 

Chemo with a trad onc costs about the same as his clinic fees, but of course, it is borne by the insurance group.  We all in a way end up paying for it. 

I was never a proponent of Dr B's until I saw the film.  It was compelling.  But I think his therapy is limited in scope.  I think it is probably only therapeudic for specific types of tumors.  Hopefully that will be fleshed out one day.

Dx 3/09 Triple negative, stg1,SNB0/2, BRCA neg, 1.4cm, 7mm DCIS, ki67 70-90%, lumpectomy w/re-excision, no chemo/no rads due to delays from secondary health issues; SonoCine every 6 months

TerriD

I just know it says chemotherapy drug on the vbottle.  The dr said that she was hoping the Tamox would shrink my sisters tumors in her liver enough that they could have done surgery.  Maybe she misunderstood??? I just saw these links after your post.  (hugs t)

Novaldex, Tamoxifen - Chemotherapy Drugs, Chemo Drug Side ...

www.chemocare.com/bio/novaldex.asp Is the trade name for the generic name chemotherpy drug Tamoxifen. Novaldex is a hormone therapy and is classified as an anti-estrogen. Tamoxifen ...

Is Tamoxifen Chemotherapy? - HealthCentral

www.healthcentral.com/breast./h/is-tamoxifen-chemotherapy.html Everthing you need to know about is tamoxifen chemotherapy. Information about common uses, side effects, interactions, dosages and storage.

sweetbean

Actually, if you click on the health central link, it takes you to a description of Tamoxifen, where it is classified as a hormone therapy, not a chemotherapy.  It's definitely weird that it says that on the bottle, though.  

Tamox could definitely shrink her tumors - it works by blocking the estrogen receptors on the cancer cells, which starves them to death.  I hope that is exactly what it is doing for your sister! 

TerriD

oh, me too!

luv_gardening

chemotherapy:
1. The treatment of disease, especially cancer, using drugs that are destructive to malignant cells and tissues.
2. The treatment of disease using chemical agents or drugs that are selectively toxic to the causative agent of the disease, such as a microorganism.

If broccoli extract could be shown to be destructive to malignant cells, then it too would be technically chemotherapy.  The term is generally understood to mean those very powerful and often toxic drugs that are usually delivered by IV to fight cancer.  However, chemotherapy doesn't have to be toxic nor delivered by IV.

We need to decide on each treatment according to what we know about it's effects whether good or bad, and the likely effects of not using the treatment.  Will it possibly lengthen our life, or improve our quality of life?  Without a crystal ball we have no idea whether we will benefit or suffer the effects of each treatment including alternatives.

I could say, I won't take Tamoxifen in case it makes me deaf or gives me Uterine cancer, but the odds of those are extremely low, whereas the odds of Tamoxifen stopping or delaying progression is quite high for me because my Stage III risk is high.  Someone with Stage I might not feel the benefit is worth it. 

sweetbean

so is Tamoxifen a form of chemo?

AnneW

Tamoxifen doesn't destory cancer cells. It blocks them from entering other cells.

So, to me, it's not a chemotherapy. But it IS a systemic hormonal therapy for cancer treatment.

luv_gardening

I guess in the same way that an antibiotic is a form of chemo, yes.  But it's not drastic in it's effects like standard chemo, except for a minority who have a bad reaction to it.  I'm sure the Stage IV women who are put into remission by Tamoxifen for years would think of it as chemo in the usual sense.  I certainly wouldn't tell anyone I'm currently on chemo because I'm taking Tamoxifen.  I'd get some eye rolling from family and friends at that statement!    By that common usage test it sounds ludicrous!

exbrnxgrl

I think we can find definitions that state that Tamox and the AI's are chemo and others that say they're not. Certainly, the hormonals work very differently than the traditional IV chemo drugs. I am on Arimidex and don't describe it as chemo but if someone does think it's chemo, fine. Does it matter? Caryn

Anonymous

To BCO:

Disrepect is in the eye of the beholder. Your removing threads about alternatives because they are not pro chemo is really revealing about what you care about. It is not the women on the forum.

You, moderators, are censoring anything that does not align with your beliefs of a chemo only approach.  You are NOT doing those of us who are suffering from breast cancer any favors, and we WILL and have found alternatives despite your Gestapo tactics. Ban me, do whatever you want to. Your not allowing newbies to be able to read all options is what is scary. To limit these women is criminal. Hope you sleep good at night but then I guess you would with all your pharma connections.

You allow disrepect by allowing rudeness to prevail....you haven't banned Black Cat, orange or digger have you? How much do you pay them to monitor the boards?

YOUR tone is nasty, invasive, controlling and scary. Why don't we make BCO stand for Best Chemical Options????

sweetbean

It doesn't matter.  I don't think of it as chemo myself, was just trying to clarify. 

mumito

My MO told me it was a chemo drug and that was why I was always so tired.