As I write these words, Dr. Stanislaw R.
Burzynski stands before a federal Grand Jury in Houston, Texas, fighting
for his professional life. He has been called to testify before this panel
concerning allegations of unspecified illegal activities. Previous
grand juries have refused insistent demands that they bring charges against
this medical pioneer. This jury may comply, starting him on a road that
could end in a federal penitentiary. If they do, it will be one of the most
ignominious events in American history.
It is hard to think of anything to compare with this: an immigrant scientist,
with $20 in his pocket, flees the tyranny of postwar Poland seeking freedom
of conscience in the New World. Once here, he rises to a position of some
prominence at a major medical center. All the while, he dreams of implementing
his new theory and non-toxic treatment for cancer.
But when he attempts to put this theory to the clinical test, treating
advanced cancer patients at his own clinic, legal in Texas at the time,
he is hampered, harassed, prosecuted, and, yes, persecuted. Malicious individuals
go to work on his good name, raising outrageous allegations about his background
and character. And as a final insult, government scientists who publicly
denigrate his work simultaneously lay claim to his discoveries. Perhaps
the major media has finally adopted Dr. Burzynski's cause.
Perhaps. But it is also clear that the forces that oppose him will do
almost anything to destroy this man and his work. An FDA raid on the very
day he appears on national TV may seem suicidal for a beleaguered agency.
But desperate people do desperate things to achieve their goals. An indictment
of Dr. B. will probably mean the end of his clinic, and a devastating blow
to over 200 people currently on his treatment. But it will also be a defeat
for millions who will never find out about antineoplastons.
