12. A LESSON FROM THE PAST
ON BURZYNSKI'S TROUBLES—
AND OUR OWN

An Editorial From The Cancer Chronicles #30
© Dec. 1995 by Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.

In September, 1991, NCI sent a team of site visit team to Dr. Burzynski's clinic in Houston. After reviewing six cases, they concluded that his results in brain cancer were as good as any they had seen in 20 years.I remember thinking at the time, "Now it's gonna hit the fan." I knew that such validation would result in a furious counterattack. And within months there was was an intensification of attacks in the Journal of the American Medical Association, and elsewhere.

Real cancer quacks are self-defeating. Their unethical behavior refutes whatever good results they may obtain by their sheer temerity. By contrast, it has been Dr. Burzynski's insistence on an objective test of his compounds and concepts (while he continues to treat patients) that has gotten him into all this trouble. Sensing this, I called the chapter on him in The Cancer Industry (1989) "the fiercest battle."

It is his insistence of doing things the scientific way that has made him the flashpoint for the whole cancer war. That is why the enemies of alternative medicine are fighting so fiercely to destroy him, regardless of the deadly effects on 300 cancer patients today, and the immeasurable harm to the patients of tomorrow.

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Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D. is the author of eight books and three documentaries on cancer-related topics. He is an advisor on alternative cancer treatments to the National Institutes of Health, Columbia University, and the University of Texas. He researches and writes individualized "Healing Choices" reports for people with cancer. For information on Healing Choices, you can contact coordinator Anne Beattie @ 144 St. John's Place, Brooklyn, NY 11217; Phone 718-636-4433; Fax 718-636-0186.

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