I find Dr Stanislaw Burzynski morally reprehensible.
I think this because his treatment is sold for extortionate amounts of money to vulnerable, dying cancer patients in their last months – sometimes bringing them thousands of miles away from the majority of their family – so they can be injected with a drug that’s been in development for more than 30 years, yet has no evidence base to support its use. We also know that he uses large amounts of chemotherapy in his clinic too but charging extortionate amounts of money for it.
Also, I think he is morally reprehensible because if he really has discovered a cure for various cancers, why the hell is he sitting on 30+ years of research when he could publish it and convince the scientific community that antineoplaston therapy is effective? He has a moral duty to do so. Hell, even if the results are negative he has a moral duty given the amount of money he’s charging. If it turns out that his treatment is ineffective, he should put his hands up and state “Look guys, it was a hypothesis that just didn’t work out.” If it turns out that his treatment is ineffective, he’d be wise to donate the large sums of money he’s made to cancer research. Sure, it’d be humiliating to have his life’s work undone, but at the same time it means that cancer patients wouldn’t be misled into believing his treatment is effective.
Another thing I don’t understand is why Burzynski’s patients/relatives of patients don’t demand that he publishes the results. They’re paying for this research to happen. Without their funds, Burzynski wouldn’t have been able to do the research. They funded it, so surely they have influence over whether he writes the trial up. Or am I just being too hopeful? If I were in that situation and something appeared to be working, I’d want it to be written up to further scientific research so that more people could benefit.
I have one thing to ask of you and one thing only. Tweet something along these lines:
RT @rhysmorgan Burzynski has had more than 30 years to publish his data. Why doesn’t he prove antineoplastons work? http://rhysmorgan.co/2012/01/burzynski-morally-reprehensible
or
RT @rhysmorgan Burzynski has a moral duty to publish his data. If it works, it’ll be more widely available. http://rhysmorgan.co/2012/01/burzynski-morally-reprehensible
or of course, phrase it in your own way.
Also, if anyone knows of any way that could force Burzynski to present his data or hand it over to someone capable of writing it up. I’d appreciate your contact! Use the Contact Me link or tweet to me. Thanks.
