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Don’t Make the Same Mistake We Did

Ok, I know people don’t like to waste a lot of time reading about people’s complaints BUT, if you or a loved one has received the diagnosis of cancer, PLEASE take the time to read this about our experience with the Burzynski Clinic in Houston Texas! We feel we were scammed and would like to save others from experiencing the same!

The Beginning

My husband was diagnosed with stage IV Pancreatic/Liver Cancer in September 2009. This sent us on a frantic search to find a suitable treatment. I had just finished up treatment for Breast Cancer and he had watched me go through chemo and radiation. So, to say the least, he was not thrilled with the idea of having to do the same, especially when the prognosis for pancreatic cancer is very grim in itself (virtually no hope of survival according to the medical community). We were told he had less than 6 months with conventional treatment and 6-12 months with treatment. We felt we had to try something that would – at the very least – give us hope.

Stanislaw Burzynski: Our Godsend?

In came The Burzynski Clinic in Houston TX. They claimed to have had success with Pancreatic/Liver Cancer patients! Up to 5 years of survival, we were told. Wow! 5 years sounds like an eternity when you’ve been given only 6 months!!!! They sent us all the paperwork, we sent them all the medical records, and plans were made to become a patient. We were told that insurance would cover, not all, but some of the treatment. We knew there would be some out of pocket expense, due to his treatment protocol being somewhat out of the norm from the rest of the medical community. We travelled to Houston expecting an initial, upfront cost for consultation with Dr. Burzynski and staff, and an overall checkup.

We were a little taken aback when we arrived and the “clinic” was a “suite” on the second floor of a 3 story building. Hmmmm…I tried to pass it off. When you want so hard to believe something, sometimes you end up listening to your heart and not your head. Next came our meeting with the doctors…it went well. Dr. Burzynski personally assured us that he had had success with this particular type of cancer. “Two months” he said, “and we’ll see a difference.”

Then it was time to go see the Insurance Coordinator. Whoa! Granted, the first visit wasn’t that bad. She asked for the initial upfront money we knew we were going to need to pay. However, from that day forward, this was our life:

Office Visit
Simple checkup by the nurse, using what we considered to be sub-standard equipment
Doctor visit (not Burzynski, never saw him again)
Addition of medication
VISIT TO THE INSURANCE COORDINATOR TO HEAR HOW MUCH WE WOULD BE CHARGED FOR THE ADDITIONAL MEDICATION. We were told over and over again “this is upfront, out of pocket, but I’m trying to get the insurance company to pay on it.” We have good insurance, one of the best.

These meds did not cost hundreds of dollars, but thousands!

I’ll spare the gory details, but when all was said and done:

We were out almost $20,000 to the clinic
We were out money for accommodations since the Burzynski Clinic is an outpatient facility
We were out money for travel expenses
AND, after we got home and started figuring up all the medications they had put him on and how much it would cost us to keep him on them, we nearly choked on our tongues when it added up to almost $30,000.00 per month!

You would think that is as bad as it could get…but NO!!! After we decided there was no possible way we could afford to do this we called the clinic to see how we might start weaning him off the medicine prescribed by Burzynski Clinic. WE WERE NOT TRANSFERRED TO A NURSE OR DOCTOR, BUT TO THE INSURANCE COORDINATOR!!! We never received any information from them with instructions on how to come off the meds. We ended up calling our local pharmacist and he was able to help us out.

Conclusion

Along with the long list of other meds that were supposed to work in conjunction with each other, the Burzynski Clinic gave my husband standard chemotherapy medications. We were never told that two of the medications were conventional chemo medications. We discovered from our local pharmacy that one medication the Burzynski Clinic had charged us over $2300.00 for could have been purchased from the pharmacy for around $170.00.
After we stopped with their treatment, we were told that he WOULD NOT BE able to take part in any first round clinical trials because he had taken chemo medications – no matter how small the dose, or how short the duration. WE WERE NOT TOLD THIS UP FRONT.
We contacted several facilities, including The University of Texas and MD Anderson Cancer Clinic, none of which will see him because of the treatment he received at the Burzynski Clinic.
His only option now is conventional chemo treatment, which is what we were trying so hard to avoid in the first place!

PLEASE, IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING GOING TO OR TAKING A LOVED ONE TO BURZYNSKI CLINIC, BE CAREFUL! DO YOUR HOMEWORK! THEY WILL TRY TO DRAG YOU IN A BIT HERE AND A BIT THERE AND BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, YOU MAY BE LIKE US…LEFT WITH NO PLACE TO TURN AND $20,000 POORER!

AND we only received treatment for less than a month!

As for the people they had helped with pancreatic/liver cancer; they gave us a list of contacts. The sheet contained 4 names of pancreatic patients. 1 would not allow you to contact them and, out of the other 3, the earliest diagnosis was in March of 2009! Where are the people that have survived for 3 years, 4 years, 5 years!!!!???? Heck, even 1 year would have been nice!

In our opinion, the Burzynski Clinic is selling false hope at a price no common person can afford!

Comments From Others

Melissa says:

I am so sorry that you, your husband and family was put through all this! I will be passing on the word in hopes to protect others from this.

Tom Stark says:

I am so sorry that you fell victom to such a preditor. In sales training they teach you to appeal to the emotional side of people, and here he clearly did just that. I also understand how disappointing it is to not be able to participate in trials. Trials are often our best hope if we wish to do better than typical results.
My prayers are with you.
Tom

Bobbie Mattasits says:

I am going for first appointment @ Burzynski Clinic today…….What should I know ??

Lisa says:

You should read what happened to us,…. and then recognize the “red flags” when you see one! Good luck on your journey and may blessings follow you!

Jonny says:

I know of a product called ddobyul made by UnhwaUSA, a biotech company. They were the first to extract the “immortal cell” from plants (cell that allows yew trees and other plants to live so long) and with stem cells they reproduce more. I’ve heard it has cured cancers and AIDS in tests in Africa. It isn’t FDA approved yet, and they are working on patenting their tech, but if you are interested you could research more about them. (they also have a cosmetic line with anti-aging products made from ginseng and yew I think..they work pretty well) Good luck!

Fred says:

Your story isn’t believable. It sounds like you are bitter or are simply shills for the FDA/NCI to discredit Dr. Burzynski and his work. There is a ton of documentation to back up Dr. Burzynski’s work, peer-reviewed, published in medical journals. You have nothing to prove anything you have stated here. I hope nobody buys your “story” and does their own research.

Lisa says:

I hope people do their own research as well. In fact,… I believe I state that fact at the end of our story. And frankly, I could care less if “you” think my story is believable or not. We are real people,… fighting a real fight for life,….. and just trying to help others from being “taken” as we feel we were.

Do you know anyone,…. I mean, a real person who has gone to BC and has won their fight? I could not find any. I hope it never happens to you or a loved one,… but if you are ever in need of treatment for cancer,… and you go to BC…… let me know how it goes. In fact…. print our story out and take it with you…… see if you can’t start checking off events as they happen to you,… exactly as they happened to us!

Blessings on your journey!

Lisa

kelly says:

I just watched a documentary on Dr. Burzynski, and found many very happy survivors share their stories. It seemed rather sad and infuriating that our own government would block such a treatment from being accessible to patients all over the country. I’m thinking the reason why you don’t hear many positive stories, is because big pharmacy companies (along with our ever trust-worthy government are discrediting Dr. Burzynski – as they haven’t found nor been able to patent a cure for cancer.

Cancer has become a HUGE industry for money-making. I guess our government would rather watch people die, then lend any helping hand.

Lisa says:

Kelly,
It seem you have fell victim to the same campaign that so many others have. Burzynski is very good at playing the “poor mis-treated doctor, who has ‘the cure’ to save the world from this dreadful thing called cancer, if ONLY the FDA would stop its persecution of him”. Go dig in some of those websites that are positive,… and see if they don’t lead you right back to sites sponsored by Burzynski himself. For years he has flooded the internet with websites that look like they are from individuals,…. but in fact….. not. Do your own homework. Check it out. And please, let me know what you find.

As far as the survivors,…. where are they? I mean where are they….. really? Have you talked to any of them? Do they have websites out there telling their story of being cured by him? If they are truly out there….. “long term survivors” I’d LOVE to hear from some of them.

I would have to agree that there is also a campaign to keep a cure suppressed,…. I just doubt that cure has been discovered by Burzynski.

Lisa Marie

Tim says:

@Fred, you bizarrely claim that “There is a ton of documentation to back up Dr. Burzynski’s work, peer-reviewed, published in medical journals.”

In fact, there is literally nothing, as described at length by a number of scientists here:
http://freethoughtblogs.com/blaghag/2011/11/a-look-at-the-burzynski-clinics-publications/

You suggest that people shouldn’t believe Lisa and should do their own research. I imagine that anyone who does research it will end up siding with Lisa.

Let’s also remember that even if Burzynski was doing legitimate trials and publishing promising results, it would still be unethical to charge a patient or their family hundreds of thousands of dollars to participate in a clinical trial. Normal practice is for trial patients to be paid to participate – Burzynski wants his experimental subjects to pay him! What a crook!

All the best to you, Lisa.

Tim

K says:

@jonny
Would that be anything like taxol/paclitaxel? By which I mean the incredibly successful cancer drug that has already saved thousands of lives, was originally produced from yew leaves and is now available as a generic drug?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paclitaxel

Just because something is “natural” doesn’t mean it’s a better cure than a synthetic drug. Some synthetic drugs are gerat, others less so. The key thing is to look at the scientific evidence to show whether it works or not.

Bob says:

Just recieved a Christmas card from a still living pancreatic cancer survivor cousin. She did go to Dr Burzynski’s Clinic for treatment. She went back to the Mayo Clinic for a recent checkup and her Doctor called her a ” Medical Miracle”. I do have the Christmas card to document this! I’m sure she is a living believer in his work.

Lisa says:

Bob, I’m very happy your cousin is doing well! It’s nice to hear a positive story….. I don’t hear many. However, I would be interested to know……. What stage was the cancer in? Had it spread anywhere else? Was there liver involvement? Was it inoperable or did she undergo surgery? Had she received treatment previously at Mayo Clinic?

There are soooooo many elements that factor in to a cancer diagnosis.

Bob says:

I haven’t spoke with her lately, but I’m going to Phoenix after the first of the year and plan to spend some time with her. I know her prognois was bleak and her color was starting to turn green. After I do get more details I can forward those on to you. Now I have questions for you. I just watched the documentary last night and now I do understand the adversity this man has been through thanks to the Drug companies,National Cancer Institute, and FDA. I’m convinced they do not want a cure for this dreadful disease. They just plain make so much money they don’t want it to change. I wish I would have known about Dr. Bursynski when my brother was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1998. Mayo Clinic gave him death sentence which in the end he recieved. Its amazing how many he cured with the same thing he had. They never gave my brother one bit of hope. My question for you is: You may not like this, but since money and not a cure is what the Drug companies,NCI and FDA are foused on. Evidently you and your husband’s experience wasn’t like you thought it should have been. Are you certain you gave them enough time to get results or maybe didn’t have the finacial resourses to contimnue. I would like to know just what your motivation is to discredit this man and his clinic? Have you watched the documentary? Those are real people whos lives he has saved. Are the Drug companies, NCI, and FDA supporting your efforts in some fashion?

Lisa says:

Bob,
No, our experience was not what we expected….. NOT what we were told! And no,…. we did not give it much time,…. because the stated cost rose so drastically and quickly, that it was utterly impossible for us to stay on the treatment plan. AND our insurance company WILL NOT pay claims to BC….. they consider him to be “suspicious” we were told,… and NEVER pay claims to him. Although, on MANY occasions they told us insurance would pay on the claims……. we were told to “pay up front” and they would credit us when the insurance paid! Crock!!!!

AND LETS JUST SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT!!!! WE ARE NOT BEING PAID BY ANYONE, NO DRUG COMPANIES, NO NCI, NO FDA!!!! But conventional cancer treatment is expensive too!!!!! (not to the standards of what BC charges) So,…. if someone would like to start paying me for trying to keep desperate people from losing their life savings to this guy,…. I’d be happy to take it!!!

Kate says:

Can you please tell me if there are any other stories like yours? We are looking into his clinic and can find many succsess stories but want to hear all the facts.

Thank you!

Lisa says:

Kate,

This should give you all the reading you could want on stories that are similar to ours…… http://burzynskiscam.com/helpful-links/

Thanks!
Lisa

Lisa says:

Kate,

This should give you all the reading you could want on stories that are similar to ours…… http://burzynskiscam.com/helpful-links/

Thanks!
Lisa

Kate says:

Are there any other stories like your printed out there? We are looking into the Burzyinski Clinic and want all the info we can get. Not just succsess stories.

Lisa says:

Kate,

http://burzynskiscam.com/helpful-links/ – Many, many stories out there of real people who have not had good experiences with the clinic. BC has done an absolute great job of showering the internet with “his” , so called, “successes”. If you research the orientation of many of the (positive) pages,…. you will find that many lead straight back to BC. Even the ones that “look” like they are coming from somewhere else. DIG DEEP! Don’t just do a general search!!! It’s out there,… positive and negative. Good luck in your research and in whatever you decide.

Blessings,
Lisa

William says:

I just saw the documentary and all those people are real, and alive, and doing well. I don’t have to talk to them to know that what he’s doing is real. They don’t need websites to show that he healed them, he was part of the biggest legal battle between the FDA and an individual ever!! There are videos of people saying he cured them or he cured their children all over youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kdg2BFXEzns <—-Click on that
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1S7XDHC2VA&feature=related <——click on this one too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrifZ6Ry4ZY&feature=related <—— click on this too

how can you say that there aren't any survivors? And these are only a few of them!!

Mark says:

go to wikipedia and look up this doctor. He has no cure, no scientific evidence and not one scientist has been able to replicate the results he claims. He is in trouble with every legal agency you can think of.

William says:

and here is a video of his building:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbadRxToNe8&feature=endscreen&NR=1
I don’t think you did quite as much research as you say you did

Lisa says:

Ok,…. I spent my precious time viewing ALL your video links,…. and I remain unmoved.
First of all,…. We have BEEN TO THE BC,…. we have been in their building,…. and it is a suite on a single floor of that grand looking building in the video,…. AND The clinic title shown on the building in the video is NOT THERE! Someone must be good at Photoshop.
Second,…. he DOES use chemo,… and in doses commonly used by the medical community. He prescribed chemo to my husband,… without our knowledge that it truly WAS chemo.
THIRD,… and this is the biggest…….. WE WERE TOLD THERE WERE SURVIVORS, FROM THE SAME DIAGNOSIS OF STAGE IV, INOPERABLE, PANCREATIC/LIVER CANCER, ,…….. but they were unable to put us in contact with anyone! NOT ONE!!!! And believe me,… we begged!!!!! That was the whole reason we went there!!!! Their stories of success with my husbands specific diagnosis!

Now,… please do some homework yourself…… This site could keep you busy reading for a week or so……..
http://josephinejones.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/burzynski-blogs-my-master-list/

And my favorite on the website,…..
Dr Burzynski’s crooked antineoplastons Ron Lewis, Sceptical Letter Writer, 28/11/11
… which said:

“Dr” Stanislaw Burzynski of the Burzynski Clinic (Houston, Texas) is a crook, a conman, a charlatan, a fraud and a quack. This reprehensible little man ruthlessly exploits the desperate relatives of the incurably ill with a series of phoney ‘clinical trials’ whose sole outcome is not to expand the knowledge of mankind, but to separate the poor families from their life savings. “Dr” Burzynski has been making claims for an antineoplaston therapy for the last 35 years yet apparently has not deigned to publish the results of any of his phoney ‘clinical trials’ in any prestigious peer-reviewed medical journal. None of the misleading cancer-treatment claims made by the clinic (on their website and on other social media, such as YouTube) for “Dr” Burzynski’s antineoplaston therapy are supported my the tiniest jot of published rigorous clinical evidence, yet he happily promotes these bogus treatments. I have not seen any evidence that the PhD “Dr” Burzynski claims to hold exists anywhere but in his own imagination (though I do not doubt that “Dr” Burzynski holds a legitimate medical qualification). I have not seen any evidence that “Marc Stephens” is a qualified and registered lawyer, nor indeed that he is even a non-fictitious person. If “Dr” Burzynski or his “lawyer” draw my attention to any factual errors on this page, I should be delighted to correct them upon receipt of substantiating evidence.

Here are my contact details – do get those defamation writs in the post before the Christmas rush! (Don’t be put off by by my winter address. This is still a UK-based blog.)

Quoteworthy though it may be, I don’t expect to see that in print any time soon.

Lisa says:

See below as the reply to this comment as well……..

Bryan says:

I was told of Doctor Burzynski by two friends in California. Both knew a close (different) friend that had been cured by the clinic. We were alos told of the Doctor this morning by a person from our Church. The Clinic was able to cure they same type of inoperable brain tumor that my daughter has. And we are down to the wire.

Lisa says:

Bryan,
I wish you the very, very best in whatever path you choose to take.
Blessings!
Lisa Marie

Suz says:

I think that the false hope that is spread by these unscrupulous people is something that they will have to atone for in the next life. God Knowes !!!

Deborah Hutchison says:

I feel badly for you on this misadventure but I’m not sure what you expected? I’m not aware of what your insurance would have covered had you gone the conventional treatment route but the bill from Burzynski is not a surprise at all. Look at the evidence again in the movie and you will see clearly…he has something so good there the big pharma folks were trying to steal it from him. He has been allowed to treat but the FDA(thanks to a favourable settlement in the lawsuite) is there to support the big pharma and the movie clearly demonstrates that also. If I ever have to go see him and be treated through his clinic, I am well expecting that it would cost me likely my current lifestyle to have my life. What value is your husband’s life worth? For me and my husband, it is worth whatever it takes. You must understand the constant expense this clinic and doctor has had to go into his research and legal bills caused from the FDA(which is really just headed by big pharma execs), he has to cover costs too! In terms of him giving you chemo treatments in there also…I’m sorry, I just can’t believe it. Never take anything at face value. It is the responsibility of the consumer to be educated on what they buy/ingest etc. Good luck!

Lisa says:

Deborah Hutchinson,
The first think I’d like to say about this is,…. isn’t it wonderful that all of us are entitled to our own opinion.

As far as my husbands worth? First of all, I can’t believe you’d even question another human like that! I love my husband very much,…. and would give anything to save him up to and including my own life!!!!! Additionally let me add….. my husband is still doing wonderful! WITHOUT burzynski! We chose other routes,…. and yes they are too expensive! And we are in debt up to our eyeballs even though insurance is paying a ton!!!!!!!!!!! BUT at least the professionals we chose are forth-coming! Don’t charge us for things they “didn’t do” like BC did….. and they allow us to fill our prescriptions at any pharmacy we’d like instead of telling us we “have to get it through them….. at THEIR price”…… again, as BC did!!! BIG DIFFERENCE!!!!!

Jim says:

Remember the Salk Vaccine????? Why did that hit the market??? In an interview, Dr. Salk said “there is no patent, could you patent the sun?” Here’s the reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonas_Salk .

This was a man who REALLY cared for God’s children more than for PROFITS from the patent for a revolutionary medicine. How about this path Dr. Burzynski? Could this work for you?

David S says:

There is a Kindergardner across the street with a optic Glioma. His Parents have scoured the world for the best treatment. They have been to Hopkins, Dana Farber, Sloan, etc They visited Burzynski and were unimpressed. They felt it was very unprofessional. One of the docs with him at the initial consult was wearing a lab coat from an institution he was associated with over 10 years ago. They sad that before Burzynski would see him the wanted a pile of documentation. They provided the documentation and it no one had even looked at it when they cot there. They asked for cure rates, prognosis, etc. Burzynski et al were completely non-committal. One of the docs did admit to be a standard oncologist. They had to pay $5000.00 in advance for the consult, which they weren’t informed of before arriving. These folks are very wealthy and smart. Again, they were very unimpressed. They said they might consider it if all else fails. As a cancer survivor at high risk for recurrence, I wanted to believe that Burzynski was legit. I have my serious doubts. This is just another peice of data for people to consider.

David S says:

Best Answer – Chosen by Voters
Burzynski claims to cure cancer with extracts from human urine.

There shouldn’t really be any need to say more, but here goes.

Burzynski is actually an MD (though his claim to a PhD is apparently dubious); however he had no specialty training in cancer and had no preclinical or clinical cancer research experience when he announced his ‘cure for cancer’ 35 years ago.

His ”antineoplastons” -the substances he has isolated from human urine which he claims cure cancer – have never been shown to have any effect on cancer; attempts to replicate his claimed results by the National Cancer Institute, the Japanese National Cancer Institute and Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals failed.

Be wary of unsubstantiated testimonials about miracle cancer cures. You have no way of knowing whether the person ever had cancer in the first place, much less has been cured.

And you have no way of knowing whether, if genuine, they are still alive.This is from Orac’s Respectful Insolence blog:

”…Dr. Burzynski first gained fame for his antineoplastons back in 1988, when Sally Jesse Raphael featured four “miracle” patients of Burzynski, who, according to her, had had incurable cancer and failed conventional therapies but were then cancer-free, thanks to Dr. Burzynski. Unfortunately, four years later in 1992, Inside Edition followed up these four patients:

‘In 1992, “Inside Edition” reported that two of the four patients had died and a third was having a recurrence of her cancer. (The fourth patient had bladder cancer, which has a good prognosis.) The widow of one of Raphael’s guests stated that her husband and five others from the same city had sought treatment after learning about Burzynski from a television broadcast — and that all had died of their disease. In 1995, a federal grand jury indicted Burzynski for mail fraud and marketing an unapproved drug. The indictment charged that he had billed insurance companies using procedure codes for chemotherapy, even though his treatment was not chemotherapy. He was tried in 1997 but not convicted.’ ”

More Data for consideration taken from Yahoo Answers

Alyssa says:

I understand that it’s hard that it didn’t work for your husband. The Burzynski documentary may be slightly biased, but it’s true. Not every treatment works for every patient. How many times have you read about people dying from cancer when chemo or radiation didn’t work? Probably the same (if not more times) than the antineoplaston treatment– the only difference is that antineoplastons don’t have any negative side effects.

My brother had a Stage IV malignant brain tumor at the base of his brain stem when he was 12 years old. He was given 6 months to live. My parents had the option of giving him chemo and radiation or let him die. Because of the harsh side effects of chemo and radiation they researched other options and found Burzynski clinic. The BC treatment had no negative side effects and showed quite a bit of success with my brother’s type of cancer. They chose that option– yes it was expensive, but it paid off. My brother has been in remission for over ten years now with absolutely no side effects. After 10 years we were still paying off the bills as insurance wasn’t covering it. But is that price they had to pay worth my brother’s life? Yes, absolutely.

Lisa says:

Alyssa,

It’s nice to hear a success story…… I hear so few concerning BC.

Aldous says:

It’s surprising how many obviously phoney posts there are here supporting this quack. There is no justification at all for him charging thousands of dollars for cheap chemicals and unproven treatment. His supporters testimonies are dubious to say the least. Falsifying his credentials and not qualified in cancer research? That’s enough to send any sensible person running the other way.

Don’t Make the Same Mistake We Did

The Beginning

Stanislaw Burzynski: Our Godsend?

Conclusion

Comments From Others

Melissa says:

Tom Stark says:

Bobbie Mattasits says:

Lisa says:

Jonny says:

Fred says:

Lisa says:

kelly says:

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K says:

Bob says:

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Bryan says:

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Suz says:

Deborah Hutchison says:

Lisa says:

Jim says:

David S says:

David S says:

Alyssa says:

Lisa says:

Aldous says:

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