Category Archives: Eric Merola

March 3, 2017 – Final Day – Texas vs. Burzynski – Eric Merola


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Full videos and video highlights from trial’s conclusion:

On March 3, 2017, the Texas Medical Board (TMB), and its Board staff concluded their multi-year long attempt to revoke Dr. Burzynski’s medical license. (This is an estimated 20th attempt at this effort since the 1980s).

For a quick explanation on how this works: The TMB’s Board Staff files the complaints and seeks a trial. Once the trial is complete, it is up to the actual TMB, as the “Board” to decide on the final outcome, based on the judges “Finding Of Fact” in their “Proposed Decision”. [Read the entire “Findings of Fact” in the “Proposed Decision here].

While the Board’s Staff sought to revoke Dr. Burzynski’s medical license, they failed. According to the judges, it was found that 94% of the charges against Dr. Burzynski were unproven, with 6% of the Board’s charges were considered true. But this 6% was based on “documentation issues”, such as bookkeeping errors. Of the non-documentation issues, things that specifically have to do with the actual practice of medicine, the Judges found that they failed to prove 99.996% of the charges against Burzynski, while proving 0.004% of the charges.

(This the first time you heard about this? Check out the first leg of the trial from November of 2015; and check out the second leg of the trial in May of 2016).

If you wish to view/download the March 3, 2017 March 3, 2017 TMB schedule to follow along, you can read it here.


The morning of March 3, 2017 – patients arrive to protest.

(3:30)

The full “Board Meeting” to discuss the Judges “Findings of Fact”

(1:05:08) March 3, 2017 – Every quarter of the year, the TMB meets to discuss policy and any pending case, this was the day Dr. Burzynski’s case was to be discussed for final decision. Both Dr. Burzynski’s defense attorneys and the TMB Board Staff argued for each side.


The “Final Decision”


(15:21) March 3, 2017 – The TMB discusses and makes the final decision on Dr. Burzynski’s fate.


* At this point in the day, anyone who signed up to “speak” got an opportunity to speak for a maximum of 3 minutes directly to the TMB. These public statements would come after the decision, rendering the statements mute in regards to the case. Nonetheless, 20+ people took the opportunity to speak and have their 3 minutes heard.

Eric Merola speaks to the TMB

Eric Merola (Burzynski Documentary Series Director) speaks to the Texas Medical Board.


Tony Farmer speaks to the TMB

Tony is a resident of Austin, and a long-time supporter of Dr. Burzynski.



Sheila and Coleman Hemphill speak to the TMB

The Hemphill’s are a part of “Texas Right To Know”


Jodi Fenton speaks to the TMB

Jodi Fenton was featured in “Burzynski, the Movie”.

Jodi was cured of a Grade III Anaplastic Astrocytoma brain tumor.



Mary Jo & Steve Siegel speak to the TMB

Mary Jo Siegel was cured of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, after refusing a bone marrow transplant.


Carol Bricker speaks to the TMB

Carol was cured of breast cancer.


Lali Fizil speaks to the TMB

Lali’s mother is currently on Antineoplastons for lung cancer.



Magdalena Fizil speaks to the TMB

Magdalena is currently on Antineoplastons for lung cancer.



Mary & Paul Michaels speak to the TMB



The Kunnari family speaks to the TMB

The Kunnari’s were featured in “Burzynski, the Movie”


Brenda & Patrick Powers speak to the TMB

Their son, Patrick, was diagnosed with an anaplastic astrocytoma. Treated by conventional therapy failed. Patrick is currently on Antineoplastons.


Rita Starr speaks to the TMB

Rita became an integral advocate in the 1990’s for Dr. Burzynski – particularly during the federal trials. She did so after Antineoplastons cured her mother of terminal cancer.


Ayub Khaledi speaks to the TMB

Ayub’s 4-year-old daughter is currently on Antineoplastons for an inoperable brain tumor.


Julie Atkins speaks to the TMB

Julie’s friend received Antineoplastons in the early 1990s curing her breast cancer. When Julie was diagnosed with breast cancer she chose Burzynski.


Liv Larsen speaks to the TMBB

Liv is a documentary filmmaker. A child Liv once babysat for was just diagnosed with a DIPG (Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma), things got personal for Liv.


The Gettino family speaks to the TMB

Sophia was diagnosed at 10.5 months old with a deadly pinealoblastoma brain tumor. Antineoplastons cured her.


Randy Gilbert speaks to the TMB

Kendra was cured of an inoperable grade III anaplastic astrocyoma brain tumor.


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Please donate a buck or two to help us keep this public awareness alive!


Your rental or purchase of this new release helps to support and maintain our ability to keep this story alive and in the public’s eye, only $5.00.



* (November 19-25, 2015) Summary of the first leg of the trial + watch all testimony unedited

* (May 3-13, 2016) Summary of the first leg of the trial + watch all testimony unedited

Judge’s Findings of Fact + Proposed Decision / Recap: Texas vs. Dr. Burzynski, trial May 3-13, 2016

UPDATE: October 12, 2016: Texas vs. Dr. Burzynski: Judge’s release their Proposed Decision – Full videos and video highlights from trial below:

READ THE ENTIRE 221-PAGE JUDGE’S PROPOSED DECISION HERE (PDF). A few excerpts from the final “Proposed Decision” from the “Texas Medical Board vs. Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski” hearings in 2015-2016: Page 187-188 (pages #’s not PDF pages) “Findings Of Fact”:
Respondent has devoted his career as a physician to finding a cure for cancer. In that endeavor, he worked at Baylor College of Medicine and received funding from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to research the link between peptides in blood and cancer growth. After Respondent opened the Clinic in 1977, he focused on treating terminally ill cancer patients, those patients who either chose not to try traditional cancer treatment or tried conventional cancer treatment and were not cured. In 1990, Respondent began providing what has since become known as personalized therapy to treat the cause of the cancer. Respondent discovered and patented a new drug, [Antineoplastons] ANP. In 1993, the FDA approved ANP for a clinical trial with Respondent serving as the investigator. Since that time, the FDA has approved approximately 65 prospective clinical trials and one retrospective clinic trial with Respondent serving as the principal investigator. It is uncommon for a person who has discovered an investigational drug to be able to run clinical trials without the financial support of a pharmaceutical company or NCI. According to Dr. Levin, Respondent has completed phase II FDA trials and the FDA has given permission on some to proceed to phase III trials. In Dr. Levin’s opinion, Respondent is a “medical pioneer.” Because of Respondent’s research on ANP and its analogues such as PB, Dr. Levin stated that “there is now acceptance of the fact that these compounds have anti-cancer activity.” Using targeted agents in combination is a therapeutic leap. Dr. Levin stated: Dr. Burzynski should be credited for discovering a family of compounds which have shown anti-cancer activity and have had impressive results in patients treated in clinical trials, at least in the parameter in having long—term survivors in brain tumors where surviving the disease is relatively uncommon.
Page 210 (pages #’s not PDF pages) “Findings Of Fact”:
• For almost 40 years, Respondent has devoted himself to treating terminally ill cancer patients who have either rejected conventional cancer treatments or had tried conventional treatments without success. Some of Respondent’s treatments have become more accepted and mainstream. • If Respondent is unable to continue practicing medicine, critically ill cancer patients being treated with ANP under FDA-approved clinical’trials or a special exception will no longer have access to this treatment. • Respondent’s continued practice in treating advanced cancer patients is a present value to the cancer community. • Respondent’s treatments have saved the lives of cancer patients, both adults and children, who were not expected to live.
READ THE ENTIRE 221-PAGE JUDGE’S PROPOSED DECISION HERE (PDF). Sign up for the mailing list below and follow this project on Facebook to be notified of updates as we continue to add more videos to this page.

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*It’s now up to the Texas Medical Board to “review” the judge’s findings and decide to proceed in their efforts to remove Dr. Burzynski’s medical license, give up and accept their losing battle, or spend another several years trying to suppress him by taking him to court again (not like they have begun giving up yet). Please subscribe to the mailing list, follow on Facebook, or keep checking back to see the additional footage and updates to these proceedings. Attorney, Judges, and Burzynski highlights from May 3-13, 2016. 1. May 3, 4, 5, 2016 – Dr. Burzynski takes the witness stand. (Full testimony coming soon) Burzynski patients remember – in Austin, TX during the 2016 leg of the trial: 2(a). May 6, 2016 – Mary Michaels takes the witness stand. Mary Michael’s son Paul was diagnosed with an inoperable optic-hypothalamic glioma astrocytoma brain tumor. He was cured of his brain cancer by Burzynski’s Antineoplastons. 2(b). May 6, 2016 – Mary Jo Siegel takes the witness stand. Mary Jo Siegel was diagnosed with Stage IV non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and was cured by Burzynski’s Antineoplastons. 2(c). May 6, 2016 – Dr. Greg Burzynski takes the witness stand. The Texas Medical Board (TMB) is also attempting to remove the license of Burzynski’s son, Dr. Gregory Burzynski — the TBM is going after the entire medical staff. dr-b-may-3 (Full video coming soon) 3(a). May 9, 2016 – Mary Susan McGhee takes the witness stand. Mary Susan McGhee was cured of Stage IV esophageal cancer by Burzynski’s “gene-targeted cancer regimin” which also includes Phenylbutyrate (PB). 3(b). May 9, 2016 – Oncologist Dr. Mark Levin takes the witness stand. Dr. Mark Levin gives his witness testimony on behalf of Dr. Burzynski’s operation and patients as an expert oncologist. dr-b-may-3 (Full video coming soon) 3(b). May 10, 2016 – Medical Records. Due to HIPPA laws, we couldn’t record this day. It was rather amusing with the Texas State’s attorney’s said: “why is there no measurement here?”, Burzynski replies, “because the tumor went away,”, but she asked again, “but why no measurement?” – Burzynski said again, “because the tumor resolved, it went away!” 4(a). May 11, 2016 – Burzynski’s Dr. Marquis takes the witness stand. Dr. Marquis gives his testimony while working as a general practitioner for Dr. Burzynski. dr-b-may-3 (Full video coming soon) 4(b). May 11, 2016 – Robin Ressell takes the witness stand. Robin’s daughter Jessica (from Burzynski Part 1) was cured of a DIPG – which has never been cured in medical history outside of Burzynski’s clinical trials. 4(c). May 11, 2016 – Margaret Manning takes the witness stand. Mrs. Manning was cured of Stage IV non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma using Burzynski’s “personalized gene-targeted therapy”. 5. May 12, 2016 – Texas calls back Cynthia Wetmore via telephone. When asked if she knew that all of Burzynski’s patients were terminal when seeking the help of the Burzynski Clinic, Cynthia replied, “aren’t we all terminal, aren’t we all going to die one day?” dr-b-may-3 (Full video coming soon)
(We have dozens of hours of footage from this trial we are trying to post for the public ASAP – subscribe the mailing list or follow us on Facebook to make sure you don’t miss it when it’s all up!)

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Just released: BURZYNSKI: CANCER CURE COVER-UP (2016)

CLICK: (2016): Instantly watch the new BURZYNSKI: CANCER CURE COVER-UP (2016) 1 hour, 50 min
Your rental or purchase of this new release helps to support and maintain our ability to keep this story alive and in the public’s eye, only $5.00.
Please donate a buck or two to help us keep this public awareness alive!

PLEASE SIGN THE CHANGE.ORG PETITION

Under “SIGNit”, sign the Joe Biden petition

Read the summary of the first leg of the trial (November 19-25, 2015) + watch all testimony unedited

Watch now, BURZYNSKI: CANCER CURE COVER-UP



“2016-buy-dvd”
on-demand

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Just released: BURZYNSKI: CANCER CURE COVER-UP (2016)

CLICK: (2016): Instantly watch the new BURZYNSKI: CANCER CURE COVER-UP (2016) 1 hour, 50 min

Your rental or purchase of this new release helps to support and maintain our ability to keep this story alive and in the public’s eye, only $5.00.

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While director Eric Merola will be releasing a third and hopefully final chapter in the Burzynski Saga in the next year or so, which will contain the entire story of the 2015-2016 Texas vs. Burzynski trial, the attempted murder by the FDA of Rhode Island resident Eugene Fachon, and the battle to get Antineoplastons first approved for market for DIPG (diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma), Mr. Merola felt it to be of great importance to “re-release” the original BURZYNSKI documentary as an HD version, and with loads of updates for the public to be fully informed of where we’ve been and where we are today in the David vs. Goliath battle between an innovative inventor with a cure for cancer, and the industry and regulatory agencies assigned by the industry to try to stop this cure from reaching the public.

Synopsis:

Burzynski: The Cancer Cure Cover-up is the story of a pioneering medical doctor and PhD biochemist who has discovered a unique and proprietary method of treating most cancers. This documentary takes the audience through the treacherous, yet victorious, near 50-year journey both Dr. Burzynski and his patients have had to endure in order to obtain FDA-approved clinical trials of Antineoplastons. Defying the face of skepticism, legal attacks from state and federal agencies, and a powerful propaganda campaign to stop Burzynski – this doctor and his patients are still going strong.

Here’s some of what’s new in the 2016 release of BURZYNSKI: CANCER CURE COVER-UP, not seen in the original documentary:

young-dr-b-web A young Dr. Burzynski in his days at Baylor College of Medicine

 2015-dr-b An introduction from a recent interview with Dr. Burzynski

1982-dr-b 1982 talk show footage, a doctor from Wayne State University makes a statement that shocks the host.

2016-Paul-Michaels Update on Paul Michaels, who was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor at age 4, cured by Antineoplastons.

1988-dr-burzynski 1988: Dr. Burzynski on Sally Jessy Raphael

dustin-kunnari-update Dustin Kunnari still cancer-free today – his mother gave the most moving testimony in Congress from the original film.

kessler-white-house FDA Commissioner nervously tried to dodge questions about Antineoplastons from the White House.

2009-burzynski-larry-king Dr. Burzynski on Larry King Live in 2009.

rappaport Former Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Board Member weighs in on his perspective of this battle.

james-tread Glioblastoma brain cancer cure, Lt Colonel James Treadwell.

susan-hale Glioblastoma brain cancer cure, Susan Hale.

astroturf0s0stkin Sharyl Attkisson reveals the latest form of corporate propaganda, known as “Astroturfing”, and how this applies to why Wikipedia and the blogosphere is riddled with misinformation and lies regarding medical therapies such as Antineoplastons.

skeptic-steve Steve Siegel argues with victim of paid “Astroturf” propaganda campaign, “skeptic” is unaware that there are dozens of peer-reviewed publications, due to wool pulled over his eyes by believing the paid Astroturf propaganda.

fabio-skeptic An honest member of the “Skeptical Movement” realizes the level of manipulative propaganda that has been done in the name of his movement after viewing BURZYNSKI: PART 2

 2015-hannah Recent update with Hannah Bradley, cured for 5 years, we followed her story in BURZYNSKI PART 2.

nov-tmb-trial The November 2015 leg of the Texas vs. Burzynski trial begins.

cohen-2015 Cured patients show their support of Dr. Burzynski during the 2015 leg of the trial.

2015-they-no-want-cure

“For some reason, they don’t want a cure for cancer.” — Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski, 2016

Your rental or purchase helps to support this documentary series and maintain our ability to keep this story alive and in the public’s eye:

CLICK HERE: (2016): Instantly watch the new BURZYNSKI: CANCER CURE COVER-UP (2016) 1 hour, 50 min

Already seen it and just want to donate a buck or two to keep this thing going? Please do!

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Texas vs. Burzynski Nov. 19-25, 2015 (State’s evidence) Recap and Update (See link for May 3-13, 2016)


SEE THE FINAL PORTION OF THE TRIAL (May 3 – 13, 2016) HERE.


PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION


This blog post will be updated periodically as we process the footage from the hearing from the first leg (November 19-25, 2015), with a new post dedicated to the second leg of the trial (May 3-13, 2016) – here.

 

DAY ONE: Thursday Nov. 19, 2015

Some of Burzynski’s patients and other supporters arrived before and during the hearing to show their support for Dr. Burzynski.

Protesters footage below:

Opening statements from both sides, below:

When making the two documentaries about Burzynski, I had never had the luxury of attending an actual trial since there hadn’t been one after 2008 when I got involved investigating this story. I only had the transcripts to refer to. However, I found that attending the trial itself was more surreal then ever. It’s the exact same game over and over again on behalf of the prosecution.

What is remarkable about each court case involving the persecution of Dr. Burzynski is the Board’s choice of “experts”. The State’s first witness was Norman Fost, MD, MPH. Under oath, Dr. Fost admitted that he had no knowledge of Burzynski other than what the State’s attorney’s provided him. Fost’s knowledge of Burzynski was a simple “Google search”. He had not seen either one of the documentaries, never met a single Burzynski patient, and never met Burzynski before the trial itself. He admitted that he was not a cancer expert, not an oncologist, and had never in his career prescribed chemotherapy or radiation or treated any cancer patients.

Dr. Fost’s expertise involves childhood obesity, organ donation, stem cells, children’s mood disorders, and drug use in sports. Not anything involving cancer.

fost

Dr. Norman Fost, like so many “expert witnesses” are “career expert witnesses”. He has testified in numerous cases as an expert witness. For this hearing, Fost was paid $10,000 for his pretrial testimony, another $2,000 to testify in court, plus travel expenses. Dr. Fost flew to Austin, TX from Wisconsin to testify.

It was reported that Lee Bukstein, had come out of retirement to try this case.

You can watch Dr. Fost’s entire testimony below:


DAY TWO: Friday Nov. 20, 2015

The second day of the hearing was the State’s second expert witness, Elaine Kloos. This was her first time testifying as an expert witness. She was reportedly paid $20,000 for her pretrial testimony, another $2,000 to testify on Nov. 20th, plus travel expenses.

elaine-kloos

Elaine is a registered nurse and senior consultant with “Oncology Management Consulting Group”, a group that advises medical and radiation oncology.

This day of testimony involved billing practices only. It was a truly dry and dull day of testimony.

The only noteworthy events were a series of “honest mistakes” on behalf of this witness, where she contradicted her pretrial testimony during cross examination.


DAY THREE & FOUR: Monday & Tuesday Nov. 23-24, 2015

State’s witness: Cynthia Wetmore, MD, PhD. She was an expert witness involving the abstract idea of the definition of “The Standard Of Care” and how Burzynski has been “deviating from the Standard Of Care” — everything Burzynski does is an innovation that is not standardly practiced, therefore by definition everything Burzynski does is “outside of the Standard of Care”.

expert-witness-pic-1

She was paid $10,000 for her pretrial testimony, $2,000 to appear in court, plus travel expenses.


DAY FOUR Tuesday Nov. 24, 2015

The two witnesses that testified on this day were Wayne and Lisa Merritt. In 2009, Wayne was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. No one lives through stage IV pancreatic cancer—it has even taken the lives of the most wealthy and affluent, including Steve Jobs and Patrick Swayze.

When Wayne was diagnosed, he was given a death sentence and wanted to seek other therapies that weren’t the usual cut, poison, and burn—so he sought Burzynski.

wayne-merritt

The FDA generally prohibits anyone who isn’t a brain cancer patient from receiving Burzynski’s invention, Antineoplastons. In order for Wayne to be treated by Burzynski, he entered Burzynski’s “personalized gene targeted regimen”, where genetic testing is done on the patient’s tumor biopsy as well as the patient’s blood. Wayne was prescribed PB (phenylbutyrate) plus a few other cancer medications that were not approved for pancreatic cancer and were used off-label based on the genetic findings of Wayne’s cancer. Wayne was only treated for one month by Burzynski, and his cancer quickly went away and Wayne remains cancer-free today 6 years later.

But Wayne wasn’t testifying to defend Burzynski—instead, he was testifying against Burzynski because he was upset at the $20,000 price tag. The medications Burzynski prescribed his patients undergoing his personalized therapy are invented and sold by the major pharmaceutical companies, and one medication can easily cost more than $10,000 for a single month. Since insurance doesn’t cover this type of therapy, everything has to be out of pocket.

So someone who was cured of one of the most deadly and untreatable cancer types was apparently so annoyed by the price tag of his cure that he started a “Burzynski Scam” website, and has been the poster boy for the “anti-Burzynski skeptics” and the mainstream media when reporting on Burzynski. USA Today has featured Wayne’s story on many occasions.

I requested to be able to film their testimony, but Wayne and Lisa declined.


DAY FIVE Wednesday Nov. 25, 2015

Another Burzynski patient or family member testified on this day, but due to confidentiality and HIPAA laws cameras were not allowed in the court room.

Stay tuned for the recap of the May 2016 leg of this trial.

team-hannah

CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS DOCUMENTARY SERIES ON DVD.


Older posts related to this story:

Burzynski: Peer-Reviewed Published Articles (most recent to 2015)

Nov. 19, 2015: Texas Medical Board vs. Dr. Burzynski and employed doctors

Nov. 9, 2015: Elizabeth Fago-Smith Interview | 2015 Update | by Eric Merola

Aug. 28, 2015 Hannah Bradley is still cancer free! Aug. 28, 2015


SEE THE FINAL PORTION OF THE TRIAL (May 3 – 13, 2016) HERE.


“2016-buy-dvd”
on-demand

young-dr-b-web

Just released: BURZYNSKI: CANCER CURE COVER-UP (2016)

CLICK: (2016): Instantly watch the new BURZYNSKI: CANCER CURE COVER-UP (2016) 1 hour, 50 min

Your rental or purchase of this new release helps to support and maintain our ability to keep this story alive and in the public’s eye, only $5.00.

Subscribe to the Burzynski Film Series mailing list

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Texas Medical Board vs. Dr. Burzynski and employed doctors | Nov. 19, 2015


tmb-vs-drb-layers

On November 19, 2015 The Texas Medical Board (TMB) opens the latest hearings against Dr. Burzynski and other doctors at the Burzynski Clinic alleging dubious charges in an effort to keep the clinic from treating any more people suffering from cancer and thus attempting to keep current and future cancer patients from making their own treatment decisions by seeking Dr. Burzynski as a treatment option.

Why are they doing this? Because they can. The TMB has exhausted all avenues trying to keep Burzynski from using his FDA-sanctioned invention, Antineoplastons, they went all the way up to the State Supreme Court and lost in that attempt — so now the TMB has to focus on Burzynski’s “personalized cancer therapy” (as covered in “Burzynski: Part II”) as a new plan of attack.

Be sure to follow The Burzynski Movie Facebook Page, Twitter, and Subscribe to this documentary series YouTube Channel to stay up-to-date during the trial. Eric Merola, the director and producer of the Burzynski: Cancer Is Serious Business Documentary Series will be there on Thursday and Friday (Nov. 19-20) to cover the opening dates and report back to the public throughout the day.

If you live in the Austin, TX area and would like to come out to show your support, be sure to follow this project’s Facebook page or email us here. Otherwise you can show up at the 300 West 15th St, 4th FL, Austin, TX 78701 address before 9am or throughout the day.

Teresa Kennett, who was cured by Burzynski’s Antineoplastons in the 1990s has started a Change.org petition, if you wish to sign it here. Learn more about Teresa’s story here.

Watch Teresa’s full testimony in Congress below

In case you missed some of the recent updates related to the Burzynski Saga, here are a few updates from 2015:

September 23, 2015 Update:

August 28, 2015 Update:

January 29, 2015 Update:

Getting annoyed by those who believe the negative propaganda?

Here is a link to recent peer-reviewed studies – here.

Here is a link describing the organized Astroturf campaign currently underway – here.

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