The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Century's Most Promising Cancer Treatment...and the Government's Campaign to Squelch It

by Thomas D. Elias

Looks at the doctor's controversial treatments for brain tumors and his troubles with the FDA

Genres: Health

Hardcover

First published June 1, 1997

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the 1970s, Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski thought to compare urine & blood samples of both cancer patients and non-cancer patients. He discovered the cancer patients lacked certain naturally occurring peptides. He isolated some peptides that were commonly absent in cancer patients and found many had potent anti-cancer properties, which he named antineoplaston. Greek for “anticancer.” So he gathers these missing peptides (originally siphoned from urine, later from synthetic materials) into a treatment and BAM! cure for many types of cancer. He's written over 500 articles about his research and methods.

Author, Thomas Elias, alternates chapters of Burzynski’s government initiated legal battles (no patient malpractice lawsuits) with chapters of patients’ stories, which was a pleasant surprise. I learned so much about cancer and treatment success rates. Elias’ writing style made the topic easy to understand even when the text was buried in legal and medical jargon. I’m searching out some of his other books, since I enjoy his writing so much.

This book is a nice balance to the skeptics whose websites dominate Google searches. The lies are thick and the pharmaceutical industry is insane. Although this book was written over 20 years ago and Burzynski is still going strong, I could not find any credible patient complaints against him.

As I look at options for an autoimmune diagnosis just received, I appreciate the reminder of what really drives the medical-industrial complex and therefore what really drives me to look at alternative treatments.

Reading this book if your life has been touched by cancer seems like a smart idea. If ever I receive a cancer diagnosis, I’m going immediately to Burzynski's Houston office. (As it stands, the RA treatment I wish to explore was made illegal by the FDA in 2013, even though it shows amazing preliminary results. No doctors here could treat me; I'd have to go to Mexico. In fact, there's presently a doctor out east who heads up patient excursions to Mexico for treatments using the same procedure that I'm interested in. He partners with a couple doctors in Baja, but uses the treatment for a different set of diagnoses.)

Here's the crazy thing that I know for 100%, absolute fact: if I shared this Burzynski information with any of the four nurses in my family, they would doubt, refute, dispute, and deny without questioning, researching, or showing the least bit of curiosity before doing so. Living from status quo rooted in fear doesn't work for me. Living in curiosity sprouting from adventure does. Which is also why my trip to Mexico will be withheld from general knowledge.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one quote pretty much sums up what all of the deceit and greed has been all about for 20+ years for Dr. Burzynski and his patients....

pg. 257
Richard Crout, then a top FDA official, who declared that "I never have and never will approve a drug to an individual, but only to a large pharmaceutical firm with unlimited resources." In short, the FDA was delivering an ultimatum to scientific entrepeneurs like Burzynski: Sign over the rights and profits from their inventions and discoveries into the hands of large drug companies, or never see them come to market.

Please share this book with everyone you know in addition to telling everyone about this wonderful physician! The truth deserves to be told and not suppressed.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because a little boy in my town went to Dr. Burzynski for treatment at his clinic in Dallas. I cannot say that I completely understand exactly what Dr. B's breakthrough is, but I do know that he has helped a number of people with cancer. Unfortunately, the little boy I knew was not one of them.

Perhaps the most interesting part of this book is the description of the ways that the federal government has tried to block Burzynski's work. The government should be encouraging alternative therapies instead of seeking to undermine the work of cutting edge science. By the time a patient gets to Burzynski, he or she has been condemned to death by conventional medicine. If his treatment works for some people, why not make it an option covered by insurance? My entire town had to band together to raise the money to send our little boy to Houston. It shouldn't have to come to that.

[Josh Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is unbelievable.
This Dr has found an effective method for treating many types of cancer, but could not get it approved.