Dr Burzynski explained, ‘Antineoplastons work as molecular switches, work on the genes that are causing cancer.’ The pill that he has developed is designed to replace the amino acids that are often missing in the blood cells of cancer patients, he said.
The drug cost Mary $4500 a month, as it was not FDA approved and therefore not covered by insurance. Dr. Jane Gertler, an East Jefferson Hospital cancer specialist, believes that Dr Burzynski has fallen short in putting his treatments to the test, and it’s unethical for him to profit from treatments that are still being tested.
According to Dr Gertler, ‘They have the right drug, they have to put their money where their mouth is and they don’t put that patient at financial risk.’ Gertler asserts that new drugs should be tested in clinical trials, conducted on different groups of people in different locations, under very strict standards, because patients going through clinical trials never have to pay for their treatments.
The FDA has finally approved clinical trials for Burzynski’s pill therapy, though the doctor already has a patient load of about 400 people from around the world, even without full FDA approval. So far the clinic has completed two phases of clinical trials and, according to Dr. Burzynski, 20% of 600 patients of his treatment are surviving over five years and beyond.
Unfortunately, this was not the case for Mary, who recently died. Though she never kicked her cancer, her husband says they have absolutely no regrets about going to Burzynski and using his treatment methods, as his wife was beginning to show progress and actually put on weight. Mary’s husband says he believes that Burzynski may have extended his wife’s life for an extra year, without painful radiation, and for that he’s grateful.