When I read and learn about the story of Ric's daughter, Crystin, I feel compelled to share and expose their story.
Crystin became diagnosed with a rare brain tumor and was only 4 years old. Some of the tumor was removed through surgery, but all of it could not be removed. The type of tumor was called a malignant rhabdoid and was so rare that only 25 people had ever been diagnosed. All 25 cases had led to death within 4 months to 1 year after the diagnosis. The oncologists first recommended that Crystin be taken home to die and there was no hope for her. The only alternative was chemotherapy and radiation which, according to the oncologists, may kill her.
My question for Dr. Prados would be: when Ric asked you, "Is there anything else you know of, other than chemotherapy or radiation, that can be used for my daughter?" Why did you say a firm "no" when two of your oncology patients with brain tumors had seen Dr. Burzynski and survived years longer than you expected because of his treatments of antineoplastons? Why did you lie and not allow Ric to do research on another option of treatment?
Ric ended up suing you, Dr. Prados, for misleading his family and being part of the reason why she did not survive. Ric stated "We assumed that these people (Dr. Prados included) were oncologists and therefore they study cancer. We were wrong." Instead of knowing all options for cancer patients and being well versed in new discoveries and options for cancer patients, current treatment options are pushed: chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery. The same options that have been available for over sixty years and have not successfully eradicated the fear of death surrounding this disease. And yet, there are doctors who do not use chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery and see amazing results, including Dr. Burzynski.
Dr. Prados, why did you push chemotherapy and radiation when Ric and his family started exploring and searching for other options? Dr. Prados, why did Crystin still receive chemotherapy and radiation in high doses when no one with her type of cancer ever benefitted from this course of action?
Crystin received 6,000 rads of radiation in the course of 4 months. This is the same amount that people were exposed to if they were within one mile of the atomic bomb at Hiroshima. Why did this seem like a good idea? At the same time she was exposed to the radiation of an atomic bomb, Crystin received heavy chemotherapy. At one point, her parents had to use rubber gloves to change her diapers because she was so toxic from treatments. Crystin couldn't run, lost balance and vision, and developed the risk of swallowing food into her lungs. In the midst of all the side effects, the tumor disappeared for a period of time. The doctors did say that the tumor would come back because of the carcinogenic effect of radiation and chemotherapy.
Ric found information about Dr. Burzynski and started to talk to former patients about his treatment facility in Texas. Dr. Prados, why did you tell Ric that antineoplastons don't work and that the treatment was so toxic it could do more damage to Crystin? And why did you label Dr. Burzynski a fraud? Do you have research and proof about the outrageous claims that you made?
Ric and his family still decided to take Crystin to see Dr. Burzynski. For one year, Crystin received antineoplastons and for months, the tumor did not show up again. After stopping antineoplastons for a few weeks, the tumor came back. The family, nearly bankrupt from having to pay for treatments out of pocket and not receiving coverage from their health insurance, needed to find a way to put Crystin back on antineoplastons. Dr. Prados, why did you encourage them to go back on radiation and chemotherapy after all the damage her body suffered from previous treatments and when you had no hope in a cure?
After 3 weeks of being on antineoplastons again, the tumor shrunk 25%. Nine weeks later, the tumor was gone without the toxic side effects that Crystin experienced on chemotherapy and radiation. Why Dr. Prados would you ascribe the tumor reduction to residual radiation effects when Crystin had not been on radiation for over 1 year?
Crystin died a few months later. An autopsy confirmed that there was no cancer in Crystin's body at the time of death. Rather, Crystin died of neurological necrosis because of the overuse of radiation in her treatments.
The saddest part of the story is that Ric and his family believes that if they had started with Dr. Burzynski and antineoplastons before chemotherapy and radiation, Crystin would still be alive today.
Dr. Prados, you took the Hippocratic oath to become a doctor which states that you are to "first, do no harm." In light of the death of Crystin, do you believe that you have upheld the Hippocratic oath? I don't think that Ric's family would believe so.
Here is information about a new trial that Dr. Burzynski is facing because mainstream medicine and the FDA want to strip him of his medical license because of his success and because his treatment was discovered by him and Big Pharma cannot take any of the profits.
What are antineoplastons? Antineoplastons are polypeptides discovered by Dr. Burzynski which have an anticancer or antitumor effect. Burzynski studied peptides from human blood and urine for decades and found that people with cancer had less peptides in their urine than people without cancer. Burzynski was trying to figure out the control factor for normal apoptosis in the body. Apoptosis is normal cell death. Tumors develop from cells that are out of control and the normal apoptosis function is turned off for some reason.
He introduced peptide fractions refined from his own urine into cancer cells grown in a lab from M.D. Anderson. He found some of the peptides to have anticancer properties. He eventually found that Antineoplaston A had the most broad spectrum of anticancer activity and began focusing on this peptide.
Through his research, he believes that the body has a backup to the immune system's ability to destroy cancer cells. Burzynski found that peptides were this backup system which could cause cells failing to go through normal cell death to regulate and begin to normalize apoptosis. Burzynski sees cancer as a programming error in cell division and cell death and antineoplastons or specific peptides are the solution to reprogram this error.
Despite Burzynski's success with difficult cases of brain tumors and other cancers, the FDA have continually brought him to court to try to strip him of his medical license. Oncologists who know about Dr. Burzynski refuse to give information to their patients even when there are no other options left in conventional medicine. Further, health insurance companies have Dr. Burynski flagged and will not cover his expensive, yet effective treatment protocols.
With everyone but his loyal patients against him, Dr. Burzynski persists to provide this necessary and valuable treatments to all who come to his clinic in Texas. When will he prevail and be able to mass produce his treatment that seems to be more effective without toxic side effects like chemotherapy and radiation? He has been battling to win since the 1970's and he will continue until justice and truth prevails in the cancer world.
