Ted Kennedy's Limited Medical Options

Wednesday, May 21

The news is in on Ted Kennedy's brain tumor, and the press coverage has been glum, almost prematurely eulogizing the Senator. No doubt we will be hearing much about the regimen of chemotherapy and radiation that he will undergo to slow the progression of a type of cancer which is pretty much acknowledged to be incurable. The cancer's growth can likely be temporarily checked, but at the cost of considerable fatigue and progressive disability, both physical and cognitive, since healthy brain tissue may be sacrificed along with the tumor.

On the Wednesday, May 21 edition of Health Talk, I chose to take a tack different than most of the media in discussing Senator Kennedy's new medical predicament. I stated that Kennedy's high public profile is likely to preclude his use of innovative cancer treatments that might offer him a real, albeit slim, chance of beating his disease.

Precisely because he is a public figure, he can't eschew the treatments proffered at Boston's prestigious cancer hospitals. Such treatment alternatives exist for brain cancer, but Kennedy's position in the limelight won't allow him to deviate from standard practice.

One such therapy is the Burzynski cancer protocol involving antineoplastons. This is not some off-shore therapy offered at an illicit medical clinic in Tijuana. It doesn't involve cobra venom, or peach pits. In fact, despite the fact that Burzynski has had to fend off government inquisitors to save his medical career, there is a phase II FDA trial underway to evaluate his treatment for cancer.

The NCI (National Cancer Institute) website even reports favorably on it: "The medical records of seven brain tumor patients who were thought to have benefited from treatment with antineoplastons were reviewed by NCI . . . The reviewers of this series found evidence of antitumor activity, and NCI proposed that formal clinical trials be conducted to further evaluate the response rate and toxicity of antineoplastons in adults with advanced brain tumors."

Accordingly, a trial is underway to assess whether the Burzynski therapy can be used to help brain cancer patients.

If you check out the Burzynski website, you can read actual testimonials of patients whose cancers responded to his protocols. This is not to say that he cures all, or even the majority, of challenging cancer cases that seek his treatment. But for many desperate patients, Burzynski has provided hope of real cure with minimal toxicity.

Read, for example, the account of Jamie Brown who was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme brain tumor. After surgery to remove the tumor in November of 2001, the tumor had recurred by January of 2002. Jamie's family explored options and decided to take Jamie to Houston to see Dr. Burzynski.

Jamie began antineoplaston treatment on January 16, 2002, and incredibly, by February 12, 2002, after less than one month on the Burzynski treatment, her tumor had disappeared completely. After follow up treatment lasting two years, MRIs and PET scans continued to show NO cancer cells.

At last report, Jamie is back at work, considered in complete remission, and has suffered no lasting side effects whatsoever from the treatment.

Or consider the case of Susan Hale. In 1997, at age 45, Susan was found to have "a brain tumor between the size of a golf ball and a tennis ball." The biopsy showed it to be a glioblastoma multiforme, grade 4. Her family was told she had "3 to 4 months to live, but this could be extended with radiation."

Gamma knife radiation temporarily halted tumor growth, but it came back with a vengeance, and Susan's family brought her to Burzynski.

Prior to initiation of antineoplaston therapy, Susan could'nt walk or stand upright, she couldn't talk, and her short-term memory was gone. After intensive therapy at the Burzynski clinic, her cancer disappeared.

Extensive physical and occupational therapy helped Susan regain function gradually. On May 13, 2000, Susan completed the 5 kilometer Revlon Run/Walk for Women. She continues to improve.

With results like these, you would think Dr. Burzynski would be a worthwhile resource to consider to offer Senator Kennedy--who many consider an irreplaceable national treasure--a chance at survival and continued productivity. But that's not how things work in America, especially when therapies lie outside "The Medical Mainstream."