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Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business

68 comments in the last 6 months

Dr. Burzynski, Cancer Cures

Posted: May 12, 2013 by Steve Saylor

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

I'm afraid I have to be very skeptical of Dr. Burzynski's claims... for two main reasons: His results haven't been duplicated by other researchers, AND there's a LOT OF MONEY being charged for his services. I've been following the scientific studies being done with Cannabis... the discovery of our own endogenous cannabinoid system which regulates and repairs many of our body's functions, especially our immune system. Search YouTube for "Cannabis Cures Cancer" to learn more about it... and watch "Run From The Cure" to see someone who's cured hundreds of people of their cancer and other diseases... and doesn't charge a penny for it. Also, thousands of people have been duplicating these results, growing their own "medicine", and extracting the chemical compounds from the plant with a method that's demonstrated in the documentary. Any chance you might screen "Run From The Cure" on Channel 12 in the near future? (I'll gladly send you a DVD)

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email.
I have forwarded your suggestion to the people at CPT12 that make programming decisions.
With the legalization of marijuana in this state, there may be an interest in airing this film.
All the Best,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Flippant response from Joan

Posted: April 25, 2013 by Karl Black

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Joan asked, in a response to an e-mail in which acupuncture was mentioned, "Are you telling me 1 billion Chinese are wrong?" That first requires the tremendous assumption that basically every Chinese person on Earth agrees with the ideas espoused in acupuncture. Secondly, that adds no sound basis for accepting acupuncture as effective in the same way that most people believing in a flat Earth in the Dark Ages made that claim true. She then follows that comment with a serious faux pas demonstrating her own research skills, or lack thereof, with this comment: "Please click on the link to find the list of Medical Organizations that endorse Acupuncture." The link was to a single paragraph in an article in Wikipedia that did not even list any organizations supporting acupuncture. It was, in fact, a brief mention of a very few organizations in which statements were made to the effect that there are a couple of instances where acupuncture can provide some relief for very specific circumstances. The whole premise of acupuncture is based on the idea that there is a flow of energy in the body that gets out of alignment and needs to be realigned by sticking needles in your skin to correct it. This is sheer fantasy and it is thousands of years old, predating sound science and scientifically based medicine by millennia. None of the claims of energy flow in the body have ever been demonstrated yet most people skip right over that fact and jump to the practice of needle insertion. There are many forms of quackery like this that you should be pointing out with good programming on Public Television. Trying to defend yourselves with sloppy reasoning for promoting sloppy journalism only compounds the problem. By the way, the reason acupuncture helps relieve some pain is actually well understood. The needles injuring the skin cause the body to release natural painkillers called endorphins to help the body ease the pain from both injuries - the original source of pain and the newly inflicted injuries from the needles. I do support Public Television and have for many years for the great scientific programming and for the diversity of programming, and it is rare that I speak out against shows offered, but this is a major slip in professional, science based journalism that needs to be corrected.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your emails. We are always striving to improve our programming and messaging.
My only experience with acupuncture is veterinary. When I took my dog Stella to Colorado State University’s James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospitalfor her skin cancer treatment, I noticed that they offered veterinary acupunctureas part of their services. I remember thinking that there must be more to acupuncture than the placebo effect if it works on animals. CSU is one of the top veterinary schools in the nation. That’s when I had the thought that maybe the Chinese were on to something.
I am not a trained medical professional nor am I a journalist. I try to keep an open mind and listen to other points of view. I meant no disrespect by my comments.
Thank you for your feedback and past support of PBS.
All the Best,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Serious failure on the part of CPT

Posted: April 25, 2013 by Karl Black

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

It is NOT the purpose of any Public Television Station to be controversial. The purpose of Public Television is to be scientifically sound as THAT is the thing most often missing from profit driven television. It takes very little research to find that the Doctor's treatments were never properly tested in clinical trials, the results were never published for peer review, and other researchers were not able to duplicate any positive results in their own testing. This is the hallmark of the progress of medicine, it is a very open process as is necessary, and Burzynski failed to do this proper research and prove positive results.

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Bernson defending Burzynski

Posted: April 5, 2013 by Linda Rosa

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

While CPT obviously did not pass "Burzynski The Movie" by any oncologist, nor did CPT Executive Producer Shari Bernson pass her comments to the PBS Ombudsman by CPT's legal council. Ms. Bernson stated: "[T]he FDA tried to indict Dr. Burzynski five times and was successful the 5th time in indicting him for Interstate Commerce..." The FDA does not have the authority to "indict" anyone, and "Interstate Commerce" is an activity, not a crime for which anyone could be indicted. Ms Bernson went on to say: "The case went to court and Dr. Burzynski won. All charges have been dropped and there are no outstanding charges against him." Either he was acquitted of the charges or the charges were dropped. It can't be both. The major defense to PBS for airing this film appears to boil down to it being made by an independent filmmaker. But ask Merola about his cousin being treated (unsuccessfully) by Burzynski; this is something he doesn't talk about. Also, as noted in the Village Voice review, Merola made no effort to make this what is ethically expected of a documentary. Reference: http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2013/03/cancer_is_serious_business_is_the_documentary_1.html

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FDA

Posted: March 27, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Either the vast majority of these comments are sponsored and initiated by persons related to the FDA, or the American public is more brainwashed than I ever thought possible. I imagine, that everyone calling Dr. Burzynski a "quack" - what an intellectual choice of a word - has a degree in medical science, and/or considers the cured cases and statistics a sheer miracle performed by God, and nothing to do with the formula developed by Dr. Burzynki's team.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email.
There are people who feel strongly on both sides of the Burzynski issue. Thanks for weighing in.
All the best,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Burzynski

Posted: March 23, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Thanks for showing this movie. I'd like to hear arguments from the other side and have gone to the websites which are clearly rallying many of your commenters, but the content there consists mainly of end zone dances over any death of a Burzynski patient and invective directed at Burzynski and the filmmaker. If Burzynski can help 15% of glioblastoma patients, isn't that better than the 0% standard treatment offers? Yeah, it's expensive. Welcome to American health care.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email. We appreciate your feedback and glad you enjoyed Burzynski The Movie – Cancer Is Serious Business.

Thank you for watching and supporting Colorado Public Television.

Sincerely,

Jackie
CPT-12 Staff

You missed the

Posted: March 19, 2013 by David Yuhas

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

& from there, temporarily, to the nearby Hohenwald Sanctuary where the retired Females might help get these Juveniles over their PTSD. While some think that the Elephants that Hannibal used to cross the Alps were of the African-Forest Species... the Name of his own Mount, "Suru", "the Syrian", tells me he used Indian Elephants. This Project, which finds me, well, in over my Head, will call for the Help of my Friends in South Africa...where Kruger Park, the Size of Massachusetts is the fenced-in Gold Standard for Wildlife Parks...as well as my Friends in Switzerland...the disposable Income of whose Citizens makes them foremost amongst the Hobbyists of the World. The Tradition goes back to William Tell, himself...who...having spit an Apple on the Head of his young Son, Orell Fuessli... is said to have turned to the Habsburg-Captain, Gessler...& famously remarked... "Jeder hat sein Hobby". These Cantonal Campuses, described, strike me as being in the Grand Tradition of the Medieval Cathedrals of Europe...these "Open-Air" Versions able to mobilize the entire Populations of the American Cantons by Way of praising the Handiwork of the Lord...millions of Years in the Works...but now threatened to disappear in our own Generation. Also...from Noah to Gretzky...learning to be "Handy" has never hurt Anyone. Best Regards, David Yuhas Boulder, Colorado p.s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ2GH82100w p.p.s. Some Years after this Event, I myself joined the Ranks of Rangers & Officers in the Zambezi Valley... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jfNOrqWwr8 p.p.p.s. Announcing the "Walters" & the "Cymbaltas" We hereby proudly announce the First Annual "Walter" Awards for the "Top-Ten, most-up-front, political, TV Journalists of the Year" 1. Shari Bernson 2. William Black 3. Meghan Lopez 4. Abby Martin 5. Gary Noll 6. Marina Portnaya 7. Jeremy Scahill 8. Matt Taibbi 9. Bel Trew, 10. Liz Wahl, AND...the First Annual "Cymbalta" Awards for "TV's, Top-Ten, most-horrific-side-effect-inducing Talking Heads"... 1. Lynne Cheney 2. Eleanor Clift 3. Newt Ginigrich 4. Lara Logan 5. Lawrence O'Donnell...(Scott Pelley's Evil Twin) 6. Scott Pelley 7. Geraldo Rivera 8. Al Sharpton 9. John Stossel 10. Katrina vanden Heuvel p.p.s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBQ01X-1AlI

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Get a clue, CPT

Posted: March 18, 2013 by Farkitty FarkFarkFark

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Stop the informercials and the quacks and show some decent programming. http://www.fark.com/comments/7651152/83103535#c83103535 Other PBS stations still show interesting things. You have failed at that.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your feedback.
Red Dwarf was a personal favorite of mine.
Rocky Mountain PBS, the other PBS station in Denver does still air Are You Being Served? at 10pm.
I have to disagree with you though. CPT12 airs many interesting programs on our three digital channels. Have you tried 12.2 or 12.3?
Sincerely,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Not a surprise

Posted: March 17, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

I note that you have featured "Dr" Gary Null (who is a conspiracist crank and absolutely not a doctor, whatever he may claim), and various Truther idiocies, so it's not really a surprise that you've apparently fallen hook line and sinker for the conspiracist twaddle promoted by the Burzynski shills. The simple fact is, the reason - the ONLY reason - Burzynski's treatment is not accepted by medical science and by insurers, is that there is no credible evidence it works. Credible evidence, in medicine, comes in the form of published clinical trials. Burzynski has reistered 61 trials since the mid 90s, of which he has, according to clinicaltrials.gov, completed exactly one - in 2005 - and that has not been published. There are claims that he tries to publish but this is "suppressed". That, of course, is nonsense. There are so many actors in medical publishing that it is inconceivable that there would be no credible publication which would be unprepared to publish compelling evidence. PLOS is the obvious candidate if the publications supposedly under control of the "cancer industry" won't take it. The Helsinki declaration sets out the obligations of parties conducting trials. One of these obligations is to publish the results. The Burzynski clinic has not done so, and seeks to obscure this with a smokescreen of conference abstracts and other low-grade output. A very thin smokescreen, given the length of time for which this has supposedly been under investigation. No conspiracy is necessary to explain why Burzynski is controversial, why he is under scrutiny from regulators, and why insurers won't pay for his overpriced treatment. All the explanation you might need is right there in the discussion of this treatment by FDA, NCI, ACS and other independent authorities. The most charitable interpretation is that Burzynski is an incompetent scientist so is unable to design or write up good quality tests of his ideas. A less charitable interpretation is that he is a charlatan. The mundane - and most likely - explanation is that he was simply wrong, and has believed his own PR. PR which, unfortunately, contains many "success stories" who turn out to be dead or untraceable. Please recategorise this film under "fantasy" though. As a "documentary" it would make Leni Riefenstahl blush, it is so self-evidently propaganda.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your analysis of the Burzynski controversy.
The lack of published clinical phase 3 trials and the high cost of Dr. Burzynski’s proprietary antineoplaston treatment have been the reoccurring reasons viewers state for their objection to Colorado Public Television’s decision to air this film.
We appreciate your feedback although the Nazi reference was a bit over the top.
All the Best,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Dr. Burzynski

Posted: March 17, 2013 by Mary Bowles-Cook

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Thank you Channel 12 for hosting Eric Merola and his presentation on Dr. Burzynski! I've had the dvd, Cancer is Serious Business, for a few years. It was fascinating to watch the latest updates on Dr. Burzynski and his patients! Mary Bowles-Cook Boulder, Colorado

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email and support.
All the Best,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Dr. Burznski

Posted: March 17, 2013 by Janet Bilodeau

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Dr. Burzynski is a living angel. Those who oppose him do not have the courage to do the right thing or give priority to compassion, humanity, integrity.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email and support but please do not equate personal calousness with our viewer’s questions and concerns about Dr. Burzynski’s work.
We encourage our viewers to do their own research and to ask questions before making up their own minds concerning any issue.
Question authority, dare I say, even what you see on CPT12.
Sincerely,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Programming and Contributions

Posted: March 17, 2013 by James Conn

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

As long as CPT 12 keeps repeated airing programs based on junk science, like Burzynski, Seeds of Death, and anything by the scam artist Gary Null, I will NOT be making any donation pledges.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email.
We hope we can win back your support in the future.
Sincerely,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Dr. Burznski

Posted: March 17, 2013 by Janet Bilodeau

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Thank you for airing this documentary! The bottom line - those who oppose Dr. Burzynski and his work are acting out of fear (fear of losing money and power). This documentary needs to be mainstream NOW! With gratitude...... Janet Bilodeau

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email. We appreciate you enthusiam for Burzynski:The Movie.
Thank you for your support.
All the Best,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Bravo CPT12!

Posted: March 16, 2013 by Wayne Young

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Thanks for showing "Burzynski the Movie" and other gutsy shows like "Ethos", "Experts Speak Out", "9/11 Press for Truth", etc. It is nice to have SOMEBODY in the media who is not completely controlled by the government/corporate power structure.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email. We appreciate your support.
Colorado Public Television (CPT12) has always been at the forefront in airing provocative program topics and providing a forum for presentation and discussion of sensitive issues. We support freedom of expression that is independent from political and commercial forces, providing information to our inquisitive and discerning viewers.
Again, thank you for taking the time to provide feedback.

All the Best,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Stop pretending you're objective; it's too late!

Posted: March 14, 2013 by L A

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

No I won't be bringing my comments over to your other attentional-seeking venues. This isn't about Burzynski, this is about your station promoting private wealth-generating medical quackery and using public money to do so. Are you credulous, lacking in critical thinking abilities, ignorant of investigative journalism? Stop pretending that you're just trying to be neutral. Your introduction of this character belies your bias. Pathetic. You should feel embarrassed.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email. We do appreciate your feedback.
The staff of Colorado Public Television is always looking for ways to improve.
All the Best,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Unethical use of public funding

Posted: March 13, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

PBS funds should not be used by stations to promote medical quackery, as the Colorado PBS is doing by airing the Burzynski propaganda film. They need new management, if they can't figure out why this is not okay. They attempt to convey that they're only presenting the facts on a controversial matter, but this matter is only controversial in that the system hasn't succeeded in stopping this quack (yet) to protect the public. It is well established that Burzynski has not provided scientific evidence for his cancer cure claims while gaining riches and pretending that his findings are squelched by the FDA.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for taking the time to comment. We value the comments from all viewers regardless if they are positive or not.
We’d like to invite you to bring your thoughts concerning Dr. Burzynski’s methods and efficacy over to our CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where the discussion continues. We have received quite a few emails from people like you who are concerned about the broadcast.
Sincerely,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Burzynski Movie II

Posted: March 13, 2013 by Scott Pigford

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Once again, shame. Your obvious uncritical endorsement of Burzynski, using the movie and other cancer-quack books for fund raising, is NOT the "we present information and our viewers decide" mantra. I quit supporting you several years ago when I realized the dangerous kookiness of Gary Null, and I'm using all the opportunities I can to spread the message to my friends. Referral to the in-detail documentation of Burzynski's fraud at sciencebasedmedicine.com is very helpful. Shame! Scott Pigford

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email.
We are sorry that you do not approve or support our programming choices, but we do appreciate your contribution to the discussion.
The full link to the Burzynski Science Based Medicine article can be found at:
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/burzynski-cancer-is-a-serious-business-part-2-like-the-first-burzynski-movie-only-more-so/
Please post your thoughts concerning Dr. Burzynski’s methods and efficacy over to our CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where the discussion continues. We have received quite a few emails from people like you who are concerned about the broadcast.
Sincerely,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Burzynski

Posted: March 11, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

The movie makes the statement that ALL of Burzynski's patients will be enrolled in studies. To this day there is no patient in ANY stage 3 trial of Dr. Burzynski. In trials, grants are given so patients are NOT charged, why is the doctor charging ? In the movie it is said the Japanese company backed out due to patent issues. Why ? The reports sighted from the company state they could not recreate Burzynski's success.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email.
Do you have a link to the Japanese Company report?
I found mention of Japanese studies at the National Cancer Institutes website at: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/antineoplastons/patient/page2
All the Best,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Burzynski: Removed Post?

Posted: March 10, 2013 by Linda Rosa

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

On March 8th, an anonymous person wrote an informative post claiming that "There is no credible scientific or clinical evidence to support Stanislaw Burzynski's therapies....Even the FDA has issued sanctions against him – the latest warning letter was issued on October 18, 2012, ordering him to immediately cease making false promotional claims about the safety and efficacy of his antineoplaston therapy...." CPT12's response provided a link to the FDA letter, acknowledging the contents of the letter. This post and response do not appear to be on the CPT12 website now. Little wonder. Much like the Burzynski film, CPT12's staff has also made claims of efficacy of an experimental drug (e.g. "Antineoplaston therapy has had significant success rates with terminal brain cancer patients and especially in children") AND CPT12 has profited by this misleading promotion. Would this not be similar to the activity that the FDA warned in its 10/18/12 letter is verboten?

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email. I have reposted that entry.
We have had a problem with the Burzynski emails. A few visitors to the CPT12 website who happen to disagree with a particular email’s point of view on the Burznski matter have been marking posts they disagree with as offensive whether they contain foul language or graphic imagery or not. When this happens, the website architecture automatically obscures the post until CPT12 staff can get back to review the complaint. This mechanism was designed to keep offensive material from our website not to censor opinions.
With all the other controversies we have had in the past, this is the first time we have had emailers censoring emailers. I have asked our webmistress to bar the offenders from abusing our site.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
All the Best,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Posted: March 10, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Thank you for having the courage to show this movie. Dr. Burzynski is one of many true medical professionals who follow the motto: first, do NO harm. Unfortunately, he is not the only "alternative" treatment doctor who has suffered this kind of abuse. All the negative commenters need to consider: why would the FDA (whose clients are the pharmaceutical industry, NOT the American public!) be SO intent on trashing this man and his treatments? It boils down to one thing: money. Cancer treatment is a trillion dollar industry, promoting treatments that more often than not, do TERRIBLE harm AND with devastating side effects. Yet this "standard of care" is based on drugs and chemicals 30-40yrs old! The old dictum still applies: Follow the money! Thanks again Channel 12 for airing this.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for comment. We appreciate your feedback.

All the Best,

CPT-12 Staff

Thank you

Posted: March 10, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Thank you for this offering. Unfortunately so many do not understand that our health is being controlled by big money politics.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email. We appreciate your feedback.

Sincerely,

CPT-12 Staff

Cancer is Big Business

Posted: March 9, 2013 by Linda Duvall

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

I have known about this man for a long time and watched what has been done to him. I have known for a long time that the government and FDA has been trying to keep this from people and tried to keep people believing that Chemo and radiation is the only treatment available. I think it is great that this is finally coming out to the public. They need to know what our government is doing and how many people have lost someone close because of cancer and because they were not told there is other ways to help cancer patients. We need more people to stand up and get the truth out. I have lost so many friends to cancer and tried to tell them there was another way but they would not believe because they have been told everyone else who has other ways is crazy. I will pass this on and definitely will donate to this. This is important.

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CPT12 Response:
We appreciate your feedback.

Thank you for watching and supporting Colorado Public Television.

All the Best,

CPT-12 Staff

Burzynski The Movie

Posted: March 8, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Loved the movie! I won't go into too much of the "skeptic answer crap" because I don't believe that it really helps. You can be skeptical if you want, but don't tell me about it until you walk in my shoes. People will believe what they want and we all have that right in the USA. Too bad if you don't live here. Unfortunately I also believe that you should be able to choose whatever treatment you desire and if you have cancer, you are terminal anyway, so what's the problem with going to whatever treatment facility you want to? The insurance should pay where you choose to go. I have had friend after friend and coworkers go to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and they all receive the same crap. By that I mean, they make you pay a huge amount up front and then they treat you with the same poison that they have used since the 60s and they "claim" they have cured them and then a couple of months later, they have a new cancer or the same cancer, but worse and it's spread all over and then they poison them some more until they are unbelievalbly weak and then the people either elect to give up because they are so sick or the hospital tells them to go home and die cause they don't want the death on their watch. And all of this is after they have taken all of their money so don't tell me about crooks and point to Burzynski. Take a look at these others. At least with Burzynski you have some quality of life. Dr. Burzynski has finished several phase II trials because he has approval to start 2 at least, so therefore, 2 must have been completed. And that is, completed to the satisfaction of the FDA's wants and desires. Here in America, the FDA is the boss and you will do the trials like they so to do them and that's it. And finally, I would like to say Thank You PBS Denver for spreading the word and showing the world hope.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email. We appreciate your feedback and glad you enjoyed Burzynki: The Movie – Cancer Is Serious Business.

Thank you for watching Colorado Public Television.

Sincerely,

CPT-12 Staff

Posted: March 8, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

There is no credible scientific or clinical evidence to support Stanislaw Burzynski's therapies. His theories and therapies have been widely and soundly debunked as quackery and not credible by the medical and scientific community for decades. Even the FDA has issued sanctions against him - the latest warning letter was issued on October 18, 2012, ordering him to immediately cease making false promotional claims about the safety and efficacy of his antineoplaston therapy. It is tragic that Coloradoans continue to be presented with unbalanced and unsound information that puts them and their families in harms way and makes them vulnerable to being taken advantage of. By doing so, CPT is demonstrating its own lack of credibility and responsible journalism.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email.
Readers can find a copy of the October 18, 2012 FDA letter by clicking here.
Sincerely,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

THANK YOU FOR AIRING BURZYNSKI!!!

Posted: March 8, 2013 by Shannon Thompson

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

I am incredibly happy to see CPT12 has shared the documentary done on Dr. Burzynski with America. I have personal experience with the clinic and I can tell you without a doubt this is REAL, his cures of terminal cases are REAL, and I AM LIVING EVIDENCE OF THIS. I am so disgusted to see this rat pack of critics saying he's a crook, quack, and CPT12 is going to "kill people by airing this". WHAT?! A terminal cancer patient knowing there's an option will kill you? Do you even hear how that sounds? Come to my family's house during my birthday when my children and grandchildren are celebrating another special day together and tell us "this information can kill". This information SAVED MY LIFE and I am not alone. When I was at the Burzynski clinic I met MANY follow up patients who were cured of terminal diseases years later. Why in the world would anyone not want former cancer patients like myself to know about the Burzynski Clinic? Can he cure every terminal case he sees? No! Did he promise me and my family a cure? NO! Why is there so much effort from this group to suppress the knowledge of an option for patients like me? It's repulsive that other humans can behave like savage animals and not want us to know about all our options. Its you skeptics who can kill not CPT12 or Burzynski. Its you who would've had MY BLOOD on your hands if I was lured in by your hate propaganda against Burzynski. My hometown oncologist who said I was suppose to be dead years ago can attest to that. THANK YOU CPT12 FOR SHARING THIS!!

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for sharing your story.
Please consider joining the conversation on CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where the discussion continues.
All the best,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

How do you intend to respond to your critics?

Posted: March 8, 2013 by Jen Abe

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

This is how you respond to critics, repeatedly: "While you may disagree with our choice to air Burzynski, we believe that viewers can be the best judge of the content. Our goal is not to endorse the film or its assertions but simply to present the information." Please stop with the canned responses. The least you could have done was be prepared. Oh, wait, you WERE prepared, well in advance, on your facebook page, where doctors, scientists, oncologists, families offered you incredible amounts of evidence against Burzynski's claims. Do you realize that by presenting a one-sided view of what is clearly a propaganda piece, that many of your viewers cannot objectively "best judge the content"? Had the airing been an actual debate, discussion, with a dissenting view included (i.e., a real, licensed, certified, boarded oncologist), then your viewers might be able to discern fact from fiction, and then further explore and evaluate the evidence. By allowing this piece of garbage to be aired, you gave your viewers NOTHING in which to base any facts upon. There are many people who do not possess critical thinking skills, or are educated with the ability to spot a scam when it's right in front of them. That was your first mistake. Do you realize the harm you have caused? Can you live with the consequences of just one viewer choosing to believe in this ultimate lie, choosing to spend his/her life savings and FALSE HOPE on a clinic that is not even directed by an oncologist, much less that director's medical license having been revoked? No evidence, but you've managed to place an untold number of viewers in harm's way by airing this. Where is your moral compass?

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email.
I apologize if you find our responses inadequate. Colorado Public Television has a limited budget and a bare bones staff. We are doing the best we can with the resources we have to deal with what seems, at least in part, as an orchestrated negative campaign by out of state interests. Why else would we get all this negative feedback before we even aired the film?
You have asked “How do we intend to respond to our critics?” I will try to answer your question.
The staff of Colorado Public Television is trying hard to respond to every letter, email, phone call, voice mail, facebook and twitter post concerning this controvery. We will continue to emphasize that Burzynski: The Movie is an independent acquisition, acquired outside the PBS system and it does not represent the views or opinions of the CPT12 staff, management, Board of Directors or PBS.
We will emphasized that viewers should always consult with their own trusted health care provider concerning what medical treatment may be best for them. We do trust our viewers to do their own research and decide for themselves.
As stated in Colorado Public Television’s mission statement, we believe in:

Exercising and supporting freedom of expression and independence from political and commercial forces
Respecting our viewers, members and public as, first and foremost, inquisitive and discerning citizens
Addressing social issues and public concerns that are not otherwise adequately covered in the community

Whether you believe Dr. Burzynski methods are effective or not, Burzynski: The Movie did spotlight the big business aspect of our health care system.
Cancer really is a big business. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2008 it represented 1.5% of the World’s GDP!
That is a staggering number.
We invite you to join the conversation on CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where the discussion continues.
Sincerely,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

The Truth

Posted: March 7, 2013 by Susan McCracken

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Posters criticizing the airing of Burzynski just aren't ready for their world to be rocked, and thus choose denial. Nontheless, there is a growing grassroot movement exposing the misguided priorities of the industries and organizations that control our lucritive healthcare. Thank you CPT12 for your courage in airing the truth.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email and support.
Whether you believe Dr. Burzynski methods are effective or not, Burzynski: The Movie did spotlight the big business aspect of our health care system.
Cancer really is a big business. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2008 it represented 1.5% of the World’s GDP!
That is a staggering amount.
We invite you to join the conversation on CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where the discussion continues.
All the best,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Bernson & Burzynski

Posted: March 7, 2013 by LInda Rosa RN

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

At the risk of feeding another of CPT's conspiracy fantasies, I want to complain about the airing of the Burzynski film that you claim *NOT* to endorse. First off, it was insulting and dismissive of CPT's Shari Bernson to imply that critics have not seen "Burzynski The Movie" before commenting. The film has been shown on cable TV and other locations. CPT is not breaking new ground, except in the extremity of its violation of public television's mission. / Why didn't you ask your guests a key question about why they charge so high a price (some $10,000/month) for *experimental treatment* when charging patients for such treatment is considered highly unethical. / And why has Burzynski finished only one of the 61 experimental trials authorized by the FDA? Here's the obvious answer: Burzynski is simply exploiting the experimental trials process to make a fortune from the desperately ill. The man is a latter-day John Brinkley. www.youtube [dot] com/watch?v=qFrR7TjbINQ

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email and link.
I have forwarded your comments to Ms. Bernson.
Sincerely,
Joan
CPT 12 Staff

Stop this programming

Posted: March 7, 2013 by Sherry Leonard

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

As a scientist I find this program totally offensive and way below the quality of PBS programming. In twenty years there is no PUBLISHED scientific evidence that Burzynski's treatment works on documented tumors. Until this occurs in the cancer field, it is almost criminal to mislead the public who are not informed of what constitutes scientific evidence of positive treatment. I feel that you will prejudice gifts from informed individuals by showing this program.

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Dr. Burzynski

Posted: March 7, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

My husband was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforma Dec. 31, 1996. He received 30 days of radiation at CU Med Ctr. in Denver. We researched and chose to go to Houston to Dr. Burzynski for treatment. We lived at 8,000 ft elevation and at that time Dr. Burzynski did not have another brain tumor patient at that altitude. My husband had monthly treatments until June 1997. On May 31, 1997 CU Med Ctr did evaluations and found that my husbands brain tumor was in remission. We headed back to Houston for follow-up. With the tumor in remission, and receiving his monthly treatment, my husband died on June 18, 1997. I requested and paid for an autopsy to check the status. My husbands death was due to a fungus infection in his lungs because of the steroids he received to keep the swelling down in the brain at high altitude. Had we known the dangers at the time I would have sold the house to stay in Houston and possibly prevent this result. Dr. Burzynski had no hospital privileges in Houston at the time and it was EXTREMELY difficult to find a physician to admit my husband to the hospital. The treatment ABSOLUTELY WORKS. Our insurance company would not pay for the "alternative therapy" and therefore we paid approximately $10,000/month for these treatments. Thank God that people are still willing to seek alternative treatment and defy insurance companies and their greed.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email. I am very sorry for your loss.
Thank you for sharing your experience with Dr. Burzynski. The concept that altitude may effect a patient’s treatment is a new one on me. I never really thought about it before.
We invite you to join the conversation on CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where the discussion continues.

All the Best,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Duplicitous behavior by Channel 12

Posted: March 7, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

If Channel 12 wants to continue hiding behind its duplicitous assertion that it is only presenting the facts, then it should do a far better job of presenting the facts. Here we have a charlatan who has produced a marketing movie designed to establish the efficacy of his treatments to the masses for the purposes of encouraging gullible and desperate patients to enroll in his exhorbitantly expensive trials...trials that never get published by the way. The usual way to demonstrate treatment effectiveness is to publish findings in medical journals in order that the claims can be tested and replicated. Burzinsky will be delighted that you are doing his advertising for him and helping him avoid this minor requirement or scientific accountability. If Channel 12 was really serious about presenting the facts it would include qualified specialists on the program - neither of the shills you will have in attendance are qualified to speak with any authority on this subject. Channel 12 is deliberately misleading its audience through this skewed presentation. By providing cherry-picked endorsement of a single "success" patient you are guilty of professional incompetence - still, it's easier including the testimony of a survivor given that most of Burzinsky's patients are dead. A public station has a duty of care to present information in a balanced way. Presenting a propaganda movie along with its maker and supporters, who have a clear financial gain from its airing, but with zero balance from experts in a way that would truly inform and educate is egregious behavior at best. This was a very poor editorial decision and you deserve the loss of public financial contributions that will inevitably follow.

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Burzynski move is VERY interesting.

Posted: March 6, 2013 by JoJo Klemm

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Texas is blessed to have Dr. Burzynski curing cancer. I'm delighted you will air it. I hope people watch. We are watching it tonight on Netflix DVD.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email and support.

Join the conversation on CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where the discussion continues.

Sincerely,

CPT12 Staff

Burzynski The Movie

Posted: March 6, 2013 by Mary Randall

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

I commend you for finding this movie and getting the word out to the public. There are many of us that have done a lot of research in the alternative cancer worlds with much success. I'm sorry to hear so many negative comments. At the very least let us see what has worked for many as Burzynski's work has. Is our standard medical model so closed minded to not listen to the voices of those this has helped? Can we not be respectful in our differences? I personally am thrilled you would put this on and it is why I continue to support you. Thank you so much!!!

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email and support. We appreciate your take on this matter.
Please join the conversation on CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where this discussion continues.
All the best,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Burzynski

Posted: March 6, 2013 by LInda ROSA

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

The wife of cancer victim Wayne Merritt writes: "In our opinion, the Burzynski Clinic is selling false hope at a price no common person can afford!" (burzynskiscam [dot] com/) Here are the experiences of other Burzynski patients: theotherburzynskipatientgroup [dot] wordpress.com/ This airing would appear to be a violation of CPT's certification with PBS to be non-commercial. "Burzynski The Movie" is an advertisement for a very expensive treatment that has, in a widespread opinion in the scientific community, failed to show that "antineoplastons" have any effect on cancer, much less cure it. CPT is complicit in this marketing by having two of Burzynski's spokesmen in the studio during the airing. I recommend oncologist David Gorski's in-depth critical analysis of Burzynski's operations and the film here: tinyurl [doc] com/d9yvrj3

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email and especially the links.
The links will help our viewers research this matter further. We have also included a number of opposing viewpoint links on our website at: http://www.cpt12.org/tv_schedule/program_details.cfm?series_id=74310349
Sincerely,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Burzynski fraud

Posted: March 6, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

What do they call alternative medicine that works? Medicine!!!!!!!!

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CPT12 Response:
Thanks for your input; succinct and to the point.
Please consider joining the conversation on CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where the discussion continues.
All the best,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Burzynski-your posted video

Posted: March 6, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Gee. One person states he's better after receiving treatment from Burzynski. Where are your thinking skills? Maybe he's better for another reason and in spite of Burzynski? If the staff at the station were skeptics who know how to research and how to avoid or at least recognize logical fallacies you would not be airing this infomercial about a fraud and a quack. Guess what? Acupuncture does not work either! Didn't know that? Just shows how you don't know how to research science related anything.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email.
Are you telling me 1 billion Chinese are wrong?
Please click on the link to find the list of Medical Organizations that endorse Acupuncture.
Thanks for your input.
We invite you to join the conversation on CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where the discussion continues.
All theBest,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

burzynski

Posted: March 6, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

The man's an out and out fraud. That's not opinion, that's fact. Shame on you.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email concerning Colorado Public Television’s decision to air Burzynski: The Movie.
Our on air staff will be asking questions and reviewing some of the critical comments we have received from emailers concerning this film during our live conversation with the film’s director, Eric Merola and Burzynski Clinic spokesperson Azad Rastegar on Thursday, March 7 at 7 p.m. We have posted links to opposing views on our website at http://www.cpt12.org/tv_schedule/program_details.cfm?id=120130307190000. We also will advise our viewers to consult their health care provider before considering any alternative treatment. CPT12’s goal is not to endorse the film or its assertions but to present the information.
Please post your thoughts concerning Dr. Burzynski’s methods and efficacy over to our CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where the discussion continues. We have received quite a few emails from people like you who are concerned about the broadcast.

Sincerely,
The CPT12 Staff

Burzynski - You are kidding, right?

Posted: March 6, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

What's next?...A special promoting Bernie Madoff? And I can hardly wait for a documentary about the tooth fairy. I always knew it wasn't my parents who left the money under my pillow. The same thing goes for Santa. Sylvia Browne, anyone? How about promoting Peter Popoff's faith healing ability. The Creationists surely deserve a solid week of air time. How about the Birthers promoting their point of view on CPT12, the Truthers as well. Holocaust deniers - I'm sure CPT12 has an hour or more for you to promote your views. The U.S. didn't land on the moon - there's a place for that special on public television. Hey, some think slavery is a good thing...need to bring it back. They note that it's never condemned in the Bible. If you look hard enough I'm sure you can find a documentary supporting that. The same bunch probably think the "white" race is superior to all others. I know there are millions who would love to see that documentary too. Why not? After all, you, CPT12, have relinguished any and all responsibility, and have stated you believe your viewers should determine for themselves the accuracy and veracity of your programming. So how about it? When can I expect you to air those programs? "Free speech", right?

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email and support.
We invite you to join the conversation on CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where the discussion continues.
All the best,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Dr. Burzynski

Posted: March 6, 2013 by Earl Staelin

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Congratulations to CPT-12 for having the courage to air the inspiring story of Dr. Burzynski and his cancer treatment using substances normally produced by and present in healthy persons, but missing in cancer patients, and the shameless attacks by the big pharmaceutical companies to destroy him. His documented results involve many more recoveries and longer survival than are produced by conventional chemotherapy for a wide variety of comparable cancers. The numerous comments criticizing CPT-12 for airing this program offer nothing more than name-calling and provide no facts or analysis. These critics, such as Linda Rosa, R.N., appear to be knee-jerk debunkers, all primed to join the attack on cue, most of them listed as "name withheld". Not one provides a single useful fact. They should be asked to what extent pharmaceutical companies fund them or their so-called "skeptical" organizations.

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cancer treatments

Posted: March 6, 2013 by Michael Anderson

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

I have observed for years a "cancer industry" that supports 2 primary treatments, which are chemo-therapy & radiation. The reality is that both of these treatments are able themselves to cause cancer. It's like telling a person who is obese that they should eat more to lose weight. One of the 1st things we need to look at re:cancer, or any other disease problems, is getting beyond treating the symptoms & actually more seriously dealing with the causes. It is so well known that chemical pesticides are cancer causing (as well as thousands of other chemicals in our environment) & yet we don't convert on a massive basis to organic farming, even though recent studies show it is more productive & can increase soil health vs destroying it. That being said, I congratulate CPT12 on showing this film on Burzynski's work. There are so few media outlets in this day & age who are willing to pursue the TRUTH that many of US are forced to search the internet to seek it out. Is there bad info. out there? Yes! Do I believe that CPT12 tries very hard to not display falsehoods & quackery? Yes! Watch the film & see for yourself if it makes sense. At the very least, CPT12 is trying very hard to give US an unbiased look at controversial subjects so that we have the opportunity to make judgements crucial to our lives. They actually care about YOU! :-}

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Awareness of health care

Posted: March 6, 2013 by Charles Augustin

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

As a long term cancer sufferer whose only problems resulted from the "medicine" I was given by an oncologist almost 4 years ago, I can say I've been a motivated researcher into the entire health care system versus nutrition and alternative methods to deal with cancer and just about every other "disease". Burzynski The Movie is just one of thousands of other publications dealing with the same issue, mostly written by doctors or people trained by the establishment. I have personally seen and talked with numerous oncologists and scientists involved in cancer research (among other specialities). Eventually most people will find they have cancer and will be offered the same options - options that have been used for hundreds of years with the same, general "success" rates. Same with heart disease and everything else. They will also find that all those medicine commercials are right, the numourous side effects of the medications and procedures are many and enormous. Our "cure" rates are an ficticious illusion - same as all "official" statistics such as employment rates, inflation rates, etc. The problem is simply our masters do not want cures, they do not want extended longevity, they don't want happy, prosperous people - they want control. And for that control to continue, they must reduce the population significantly in their opinion. Our masters simply want us gone, but they want our accumulated wealth before we go. The entire "health care" system is built upon this simple premise started by the same families and bloodlines that control the banks and financial system, military-industrial complex, multi-national corporations, etc. You show is being attacked by those entities or by people who simply refuse to do any serious research and analysis into any of this. Our masters reward doctors, nurses, generals, CEOs and others handsomely so they will do the dirty work. They control virtually all media and their "experts" and thereby control public opinion and perception. The public then becomes their policemen to label those telling the truth as quacks, nuts, conspiracy theorists or even terrorists. Thank you for taking on the system - soon we all will have to I imagine.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email and support. We appreciate your unique perspective on this matter.
Please join the conversation on CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where the discussion continues.
All the best,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Thank you, CPT12, for breaking through the media blackout

Posted: March 6, 2013 by Jant Holmes

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

For decades mainstream media has done everything it could to support the cancer industry as it protects its useless monopoly via the government and our courts. As someone who has worked with late-stage cancer patients over many years I have seen first hand how the treatment kills far more often than the disease; by the time patients figure out the "cure" has devastated their immune system and begin to seek alternative treatments that do work, it's too often too late. Thank you, CPT12, for having the courage to show there are alternative treatments that actually work without destroying patients' health. Burzynski's method is just one way to help cancer victims heal. I hope you will continue to shed light on the destructive actions of the profit-grubbing AMA and its associated cancer societies.

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Third leading cause of death in America

Posted: March 6, 2013 by Chris Sarne

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

A couple posters are troubled because CPT12 is airing an alternative medical treatment video, calling it quackery. I would counter that our "modern" medical establishment is largely pharmaceutical quackery. Every disease has a pill and new diseases ate "discovered" every day, along with a new pill to cure them. The most obscene are childhood disorders that require psychotropic drugs. Did you know that the third leading cause of death in America is going to the doctor? http://www.health-care-reform.net/causedeath.htm In the early part of the last century the medical profession was hijacked by Carnegie and Rockefeller for their personal financial gain? http://www.knowthelies.com/node/4393 Closing off unpopular points of view is tyranny of the majority. CPT12 should be commended for having the courage to get outside the box of what is considered to be acceptable. People should have the right to consider alternative points of view and make up their own minds.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email, links and support.
Please join the conversation on CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where the discussion continues.
All the best,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Many Thanks Once Again!

Posted: March 6, 2013 by Frances Shure

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

It is with relief that we are finally able to see a documentary that airs at least one of the many promising alternative treatments for cancer. Many such promising treatments have been brutally suppressed. You can find some of this information in Massimo Mazzucco's documentary "Cancer: The Forbidden Cures." Gerson, Rife, and Gonzalez are but a few who, along with Burzynski, have struggled with the National Cancer Institute's stranglehold on this industry. It is with relief that we finally have a media outlet that has the courage to air well-researched material that the corporate media will not touch. Many thanks once again CPT12 for being the forth estate and trusting us to have the intelligence to hear many sides to a controversy and make up our own minds!

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email and support.
Please join the conversation on CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where the discussion continues.
All the best,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Burzynski The Movie - NOW, a must see!

Posted: March 5, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

If a program that has yet to premier, can result in threats from people deciding to work to revoke CPT's license . . . well, that is a show I have to watch! Thank you CPT for trusting your members and viewers to exercise their critical thinking skills when watching ANY and ALL of the controversial OR non-controversial programs you may choose to air, and they choose to watch. Also, thank you for hosting this buzz feed page. I hope everyone watches the premier and comes back to post their comments here. I think the following quote is appropriate for this situation - "Man's greatness lies in his power of thought." ~ Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email and support.
I know I will be watching Thursday night.
I look forward to seeing if it really is a "a puff-piece paean that cherrypicks facts and ignores any criticism".
Thanks again for your comments. You might enjoy joining the discussion on our CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages. You can use the hashtag #burzynski to follow the thread.

All the Best,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Burzynski program raises questions about CPT's license

Posted: March 5, 2013 by Larry Sarner

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

There is a huge problem with CPT's programming department when medically questionable things like "Burzynski The Movie" get on the air. There is an even larger problem when you "premier" such programs on PBS. What is your programming standard for airing medical topics? Is it "anything goes" (i.e., no standard), or is there a bar that has to be cleared? If it is "anything goes", it's time to open a discussion of Channel 12's broadcast license and whether your programming in general is serving the public good by airing propaganda for known quackery. (Oversight to assure service to the public good is why licensing exists, after all.) On the other hand, if you do indeed require programs to clear some bar before airing, then please make that standard publicly known, and then it will be time for a discussion about how appropriate that standard is (and how objectively it is applied in practice), since CPT gives airtime to dangerous quackery. It is never sufficient just to have a medical "disclaimer" to your webpage and Facebook page, or even to the airing (if you do that). Every quack who sells a bogus remedy has that on their advertising, words to the effect, "This product or service has not been approved by the FDA; you should consult your physician." They think this gets them off the hook legally, but it is a legal nullity. The only thing such a disclaimer really does is alert those of us in the know as to what to expect (i.e., unsubstantiated claims of effectiveness). In any case, CPT viewers are *not* the best judges of medical content, as you assert. (If they were, there would be no need for CPT to air any medical programs at all, be they good or bad.) Your viewers can reasonably expect that you have exercised some judgment on their behalf before you ask them to watch a program like "Burzynski The Movie". But like your viewers, you are likely as unqualified to judge the content of this movie on your own. Why have you not considered trotting over to University Hospital and asking a real oncologist to advise you on the validity of the movie's content? There is probably a sound reason why no other PBS station has picked up this program in the two years since it was created. You are not being "leading edge" by being the first. It is just being trailing-edge irresponsible.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your comments. CPT12 would never jeopardize its FCC standing, especially because of just one program. The station has a history of airing content not widely accessible in mainstream media and often seen as controversial. In addition, a strong platform of support has been built on this mission for over 30 years and financially supported by individuals in the community who think that CPT12 is not only a unique, but truly valuable community resource. Our viewers and supporters have let us know that they like to think for themselves and make their own decisions. We respect this as we do your opinions.

I first learned about this documentary from a longtime member who mailed me a DVD and asked that the station consider it. After screening it and doing some research I contacted Eric Merola of Merola Productions the film’s Producer/Director.

The production was fully funded by Merola Productions and personally by Producer/Director Eric Merola himself. Merola spent years researching the story of Dr. Burzynski, an MD with a PhD in biochemistry who invented a proprietary gene-targeted alternative cancer therapy called Antineoplastons.

Dr. Burzynski has worked in tandem under strict supervision of the FDA and their protocols, procedures and publication mandates. And he has operated within the full extent of the law in all clinical trials and treatments. This therapy has been through successful Phase I and fourteen Phase II FDA approved clinical trials which were just completed in July 2012 and has now has been approved for Phase III trials. Clinical trials are also going on in the UK and Japan. The fascination around this story and part of the reason we decided to air it is that at the same time antineoplaston therapy was going through clinical trials, the FDA tried to indict Dr. Burzynski five times and was successful the 5^th time in indicting him specifically for Interstate Commerce - he was treating people beyond Texas state lines who were coming to him from all over the world - and all at their own free will. The case went to court and Dr. Burzynski won. All charges have been dropped and there are no outstanding charges against him.

Antineoplaston therapy has had significant success rates with terminal brain cancer patients and especially in children. For one example, you can see Skype interviews with Dustin Kunnari and his mom and dad at the CPT12 landing page www.cpt12.org/burzynski. Dustin is one person who was treated by Dr. Burzynski as a toddler and is now a healthy, young man of 21 years. His mother’s testimony at the 1996 Congressional Sub-Committee Hearings can be seen in the film.

Dr. Burzynski states himself that antineoplaston therapy is not a one-size-fits-all treatment. Every case, and every individual’s treatment is different.

In the eyes of the station this documentary is just that – a documentary. If you have not yet seen the film I recommend that you watch it. It was licensed to the Documentary Channel and just became available. The film contains archival footage from Congressional Sub-Committee Hearings, news media outlets, testimonies from patients and their families, comments from MD’s, PhD’s, clips and documents from the National Cancer Institute and FDA as well as video clips of interviews with former heads of these very agencies.

Thank you for participating in the conversation.

Sincerely,

Shari Bernson

Shari Bernson
Director of Development / Executive Producer, Colorado Public Television

Thanks CPT12

Posted: March 5, 2013 by Wayne Young

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

I can't believe the caustic comments about this movie BEFORE it is even shown! Let the people see the program and make up their own minds. Do we not have free speech in this country?! Traditonal cancer treatments are dangerous and expensive. Let's see if there are other treatment options that may be better. Thanks again to CPT12 for thinking outside of the corporate media box.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email and support. We appreciate your feedback.
All the Best,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

WOW - Opposition is out in full force to continue to misinform the public of the truth

Posted: March 5, 2013 by Roger Clemment

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Anyone with a half a brain, can figure out that the people complaining on here have one goal: misinform the public about the truth of Antineoplastons. You will notice they can't back up a single one of their claims. They only send links to their own flawed & manipulative blogs. ALl written by the same people, re-posted to give the 'illusion' that they are coming from more than one source. They also hijacked and locked the Wikipedia page - that Wiki page is comical - they claim things like: "The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has stated: "Bottom Line: There is no clear evidence to support the anticancer effects of antineoplastons in humans."[1] - yes if you read the source - THEY NEVER SAID THAT! You can't find it anywhere! LOL another example: "Houston Press correspondent Craig Malisow mocked the film's lack of objectivity, characterizing it as "a puff-piece paean that cherrypicks facts and ignores any criticism", and criticized the project for presenting only Burzynski's side of the story.[60]" However, if you read that source, you wil see that the writer NEVER SAW THE FILM! And what he really said was: "..we don't necessarily think a puff-piece paean that cherrypicks facts and ignores any criticism.." LOL! These guys will lie, cheat and steal to meet their agenda - makes sense, since truth is what they hate most—that, and free speech. These guys would do great in HItler's SS brigade. They hate the truth of this therapy, and will stop at nothing to misinform the public. Rational Discourse is simply not on the table with these people. You will also notice that they clearly have not even watched the film. All they do is attack and intimidate people who have watched it. They refuse to actually watch it, as it means they will be forced to face the film's content - which you will also notice THEY NEVER DO! They refuse to try to debunk ANYTHING in the film. Think for yourself, judge for yourself - you believe a bunch of terrorizing yahoos or verifiable, and factual data?

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email defending Colorado PublicTelevision’s decision to air Burzynski: The Movie, but did you really have to bring up Hitler?
Concerned individuals have a right to express their outrage without the spector of Nazi Germany being raised.
We appreciate your support but please let’s try to keep this conversation civil.
Sincerely,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Promoting Quackery

Posted: March 5, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Shame on you for promoting "Dr." Burzynski. This man is laughing all the way to the bank as he preys on the helpless, hopeless, scared and vulnerable people he purports to treat. Cancer victims are having their life savings taken away, and the possibility of enjoying their remaining days taken away, by this contemptible, dishonest and heartless "doctor" who is offering them nothing at all. He deserves jail time, not air time. And your claim that your station presents "controversial" programs to your public doesn't hold water. There is no controversy about the non-existent efficacy of his "treatments." Your station should offer a public and abject apology to your viewers and every cancer patient around the world. Immediately.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email concerning Colorado Public Television’s decision to air Burzynski: The Movie.
Our on air staff will be asking questions and reviewing some of the critical comments we have received concerning this film during our live conversation with the film’s director, Eric Merola and Burzynski Clinic spokesperson Azad Rastegar on Thursday, March 7 at 7 p.m. We have also posted links to opposing views on our website at http://www.cpt12.org/tv_schedule/program_details.cfm?id=120130307190000.
We also will advise our viewers to consult their health care provider before considering any alternative treatment. CPT12’s goal is not to endorse the film or its assertions but to present the information.
We’d like to invite you to bring your thoughts concerning Dr. Burzynski’s methods and efficacy over to our CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where the discussion continues. We have received quite a few emails from people like you who are concerned about the broadcast.

Sincerely,
The CPT12 Staff

Burzynski, seriously?

Posted: March 5, 2013 by Brian Sheely

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

How can you even consider airing this. The man is one of the biggest frauds to walk the face of the earth. By airing this documentary and giving it serious consideration you are helping target desperate cancer patients to be defrauded at their most vulnerable time. How do you sleep at night. If this airs I will be asking my elected representative to pull funding for your channel. Brian

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email expressing your concern over Colorado Public Television’s decision to air Burzynski: The Movie.
For more than 30 years, CPT12 has brought independent, challenging and sometimes controversial content to air. This film falls into that category. For all those years we have trusted the intelligence and judgment of our audience and their ability to discern what might be right for them. We always advice our viewers to consult with their physician before making any decisions on alternative health therapies
Our on air staff will be asking questions and reviewing some of the critical comments we have received concerning this film during our live conversation with the film’s director, Eric Merola and Burzynski Clinic spokesperson Azad Rastegar on Thursday, March 7 at 7 p.m. We have also posted links to opposing views on our website at http://www.cpt12.org/tv_schedule/program_details.cfm?id=120130307190000.
CPT12’s goal is not to endorse the film or its assertions but to present the information.
Thank you again for your comments. We’d like to invite you to bring your ideas and thoughts concerning Dr. Burzynski’s methods over to our CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where the discussion continues.

Sincerely,
The CPT12 Staff

Dangerous pseudoscience

Posted: March 4, 2013 by Rosie Drake

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

As a cancer patient who received a bone marrow transplant in 2010, I am acutely sensitive to the dangers of pseudoscience. Through my journey with my disease, I talked to a number of patients who were seduced by claims of non-evidence based cures and breakthroughs presented in the media. Sadly a number of these individuals have passed away and I now take a strong stance when I see ridiculous cancer cures presented by the media. Gary Null and Stan Burzynski are complete quacks. While they make money selling snake oil, their followers die. Please do not air programs that support their dangerous non-scientific ideas.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email and your feedback concerning Colorado Public Television’s decision to air Burzynski: The Movie andGary Null Productions. We respect your viewpoint and wish you the best in your recovery.
For more than 30 years, Colorado Public Television has brought independent, challenging and sometimes controversial content to air. CPT12’s goal is not to endorse these films or their assertions but simply to present the information.
Our on air Staff will be asking questions and bringing up viewer concerns during our live conversation with film’s director, Eric Merola and Burzynski Clinic spokesperson Azad Rastegar on Thursday, March 7 at 7 p.m. We have also posted links to opposing views on our website at http://www.cpt12.org/tv_schedule/program_details.cfm?id=120130307190000.
Thank you again for your comments. We’d like to invite you to bring your ideas, thoughts, and personal experience concerning alternative cancer treatments over to our CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where the discussion will continue.

Sincerely,
Joan
CPT12 Staff

Pledge week programming

Posted: March 4, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

I am dismayed to hear that channel 12 will be airing a program praising Dr. Stan Burzynski's "alternative" cancer clinic in Texas. If the station wanted to present a journalistically solid report on Burzynski's operation (including the flimsy evidence for Burzynski's "cures" and the clinic's checkered past as regards regulatory problems), that could be worthwhile. But it's a terrible disservice to your viewers to present a one-sided program that amounts to an infomercial for Burzynski's operation, helping it to continue to rake in millions of dollars from desperate and deluded cancer patients. Please reconsider this disastrous choice. Thank you.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email expressing concern over Colorado Public Television’s decision to air Burzynski: The Movie.
For more than 30 years, CPT12 has brought independent, challenging and sometimes controversial content to air. This film falls into that category. For all those years we have trusted the intelligence and judgment of our audience and their ability to discern what might be right for them.
Our on air staff will be asking questions and reviewing some of the comments we have received during our live conversation with the film’s director, Eric Merola and Burzynski Clinic spokesperson Azad Rastegar on Thursday, March 7 at 7 p.m. We have also posted links to opposing views on our website at http://www.cpt12.org/tv_schedule/program_details.cfm?id=120130307190000.
CPT12’s goal is not to endorse the film or its assertions but to present the information.
Thank you again for your comments. We’d like to invite you to bring your ideas and thoughts concerning Dr. Burzynski’s methods over to our CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where the discussion continues.

Sincerely,
The CPT12 Staff

Burzynski

Posted: March 4, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

I think it is criminal that you would showcase this doctor. I hope you will be offering opposing points of view from the scientific community to demonstrate the quackery of The Burzynski Institute. Better yet, please interview the families of victims who gave thousands and thousands of dollars for a cure but whose loved ones did not survive. Those stories will make you weep.

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Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski

Posted: March 4, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

I'm extremely disappointed to find out that you will be running this INFOMERCIAL in an effort to raise money for PBS. This man, Stanislaw Burzynski has been running a medical scam for more than 30 years. He charges desperate cancer patients hundreds of thousands of dollars to participate in his clinical trials. This in and of itself is highly unethical. But on top of this he has yet to publish one bit of evidence in any respected peer reviewed journal that his antinerplaston therapy works. No other researchers have been able to reproduce what he claims are his results using antinerplastons. Burzynski has had more than 30 years to show whether or not his treatment works. He's refused to do so. Why? What is he hiding? His behavior is that of a charlatan and con man. Why would your station want to be a shill for such an unethical greedy man?

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Burzynsky and other quacks on CPT 12

Posted: March 4, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

I'm shocked to learn that you're promoting Stanislaw Burzynski's sales pitch on PBS. This is contrary to everything PBS is supposed to stand for.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email and your feedback on Burzynski: The Movie. For more than 30 years, Colorado Public Television has brought independent, challenging and sometimes controversial content to air. This film falls into that category. For all those years we have trusted the intelligence and judgment of our audience and their ability to discern what might be right for them.

While you may disagree with our choice to air Burzynski, we believe that viewers can be the best judge of the content. Our goal is not to endorse the film or its assertions but simply to present the information.

We will be asking a variety of questions and reviewing comments during our live conversation with the film’s director, Eric Merola and Burzynski Clinic spokesperson Azad Rastegar on Thursday, March 7 at 7 p.m. We have also posted links to opposing views on our website at http://www.cpt12.org/tv_schedule/program_details.cfm?id=120130307190000.

Thank you again for your comments. We’d like to invite you to bring your ideas and thoughts over to our CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where we are discussing and debating different opinions throughout the week. You can join in now at: http://www.facebook.com/CPT12.

Sincerely,
The CPT12 Staff

Burzynski

Posted: March 4, 2013 by Linda Rosa

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Shame on CPT12 for being complicit in offering false hope to vulnerable families struggling with cancer. In its promo, CPT characterizes Stanislaw Burzynski as a "pioneering medical doctor" who has developed a "life-saving medical breakthrough" that has brought about the "recovery" for cancer patients in his care. Nothing could be further from the truth. "Burzynski The Movie" is pure advertisement (i.e. commercial programming) for a very expensive treatment that has, in the widespread opinion in the scientific community, failed to show that "antineoplastons" have any effect on cancer, much less cure it.

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CPT12 Response:
Dear Ms. Rosa,

Thank you for contacting Colorado Public Television (CPT12) with your feedback on Burzynski: The Movie. For more than 30 years, the station has brought independent, challenging and sometimes controversial content to air, at times in the face of individual and group protests. This film falls into that category. For all of these years we have trusted the intelligence and judgment of our audience and their ability to discern what might be right for them.

While you may disagree with out choice to air Burzynski, many people do and we believe that viewers can be the best judge of the content. Our goal is not to endorse the film or its assertions but simply to present the information.

We will be bringing a variety of questions and comments received from our viewers during the live conversation with film’s director Eric Merola and Burzynski Clinic Spokesperson Azad Rastegar on Thursday, March 7.

Thank your again for your comments.

Sincerely,
Shari Bernson

Burzynski? Seriously?

Posted: March 4, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

I'm shocked that your station is airing the infomercial on Dr. Burzynski. I hope that you're living up to your mission of presenting the full story surrounding his 30+ years of selling his treatments in the absence of any reproducible success. I recommend that you invite an oncologist on air to counter the unproven claims that Mr. Merola has made in his movie and to other media outlets. Your viewers deserve the right to hear the dangers of this treatment from medical professional. Questions that I would expect you to ask Mr. Merola: 1. Why hasn't Dr. Burzynski published any peer reviewed results from any of his more sixty FDA studies? 2. Why do patients pay higher prices for treatment at his clinic than they can get at facilities delivering the same care? 3. Why is the publicly traded Burzynski Research Institute stock still trading at $.15 if his company has really found the cure for cancer? Do the investors know something that the scientific community doesn't? 4. Why does the clinic routinely attack critics like Rhys Morgan? Thank you Dean Steadman Firestone, CO

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for your email.
For more than 30 years, Colorado Public Television has brought independent, challenging and sometimes controversial content to air, at times in the face of individual and group protests. For all those years we have trusted the intelligence and judgment of our audience and their ability to discern what might be right for them.

We will be bringing a variety of pertinent questions and concerns up during our live conversation with the film’s director, Eric Merola and Burzynski Clinic spokesperson Azad Rastegar on Thursday, March 7 at 7 p.m. We have also posted links to opposing views on our website at http://www.cpt12.org/tv_schedule/program_details.cfm?id=120130307190000.

Thank you again for your comments. We’d like to invite you to bring your ideas and thoughts over to our CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where we are discussing and debating different opinions throughout the week. You can join in now at: http://www.facebook.com/CPT12.

Sincerely,
The CPT12 Staff

Quackery and Pseudoscience programming

Posted: March 4, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Please, please, please stop promoting quackery and pseudoscience - Burzynski: Cancer Is Serious Business, Part II, Gary Null videos, Dr. Fuhrman’s Immunity Solution, and The Quantum Activist, to name a few. Do you know or care that Stanislaw Burzynski charges patients huge sums of money to take part in his "clinical trials", whose results he doesn’t publish? Do you care that the Burzynski Research Institute is currently being investigated by the FDA? Do you care that patient after patient after patient has died while under Burzynski’s care, despite his promises to cure them? People are dying because of this stuff and they and others are contributing $$ promoting this stuff, which could actually be spent to help people instead. Believing doesn't make it so. Please, please, please don't do this. This is not about "freedom"; this is about scamming people, being deceitful, and selling false cures. Up till I always thought public television would be above this. I was wrong.

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Please Reconsider...

Posted: March 4, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Please reconsider your decision to air "Burzynski: Cancer Is Serious Business, Part II" Burzynski's "maverick" research is nothing but an elaborate scam, designed to fleece desperate people of significant amounts of money - and his "clinical trails" are currently under investigation by the FDA.

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Burzynski Movie

Posted: March 4, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

I am appalled by your decision to show this film on Colorado Public Television. Burzynski charges vulnerable patients huge sums of money to participate in his "clinical trials," whose results he hasn't published since 2006. The movie provides a few cherry picked examples of "success," but a simple search reveals multiple patients who have died despite his "treatments" and serious questions about his methods. I suggest you read this post for more information: http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2011/11/29/burzynski-the-movie-subtle-its-not/ In Boulder where I live, cancer patients are regularly bombarded with pseudoscientific promises of "alternative" cancer cures that seriously endanger their lives. In showing this movie, Colorado Public Television is making a major contribution to this problem. I will not be donating to CPT so long as you continue to promote this kind of dangerous material.

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Burzynski

Posted: March 4, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Burzynski? Seriously? I thought public television was supposed to operate in the public interest. There is nothing beneficial in quackery that leaves families with not only dead loved ones but also empty bank accounts and crushed hopes. The journalistic value of "showing all sides" applies to politics, not science. No matter how incisive you think your program is going to be, it will only promote the idea that there's something to Burzynski's bizarre claims. Don't do this.

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Burzynski Movie on PBS

Posted: March 4, 2013 by Valerie Merges

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

I am so disappointed to learn you will be giving air time to this scam artist. You have not done your research. As "Public Television", you owe it to your viewers to be science-based. You should not be airing promotional videos that could be confused by the general public as documentaries. In addition, finding science-based criticism of Burzynski's theories, practices, and costs is easily obtained by rudimentary internet searches.

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Cancer Patients Need Legitimate Info, not testimonials and conspiracy theories!

Posted: March 3, 2013 by Name Withheld

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

This movie is not factually accurate and not a documentary, but rather a thinly-disguised advertorial. Please show us your journalistic and intellectual honesty by presenting legitimate cancer information to cancer patients. This film has real potential for directly harming cancer patients, and we deserve to have honest treatment information in order to make our treatment choices. Please research this unproven treatment and the clinic with its questionable ethics, misinformation, and direct patient harm before you air this program. Thanks for your consideration.

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This is an infomercial. Please investigate

Posted: March 3, 2013 by Jim Friedman

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

The Burzynski Movie is a 100% marketing movie. Eric Merola is a producer of advertisements. Did anyone at your station preview the movie? It is anti-science, manipulative and paranoid. It cherry-picks a few cancer survivors for demonstration. For a more representative sample, see theotherburzynskipatientgroup.wordpress.com for example. The websites www.burzynskimovie.com, www.burzynskipatientgroup.org and Burzynski's own clinic site are rated as dangerous by mywot.com (Web of Trust.) All reputable oncologists reject Burzynski's methods as unproven and dangerous. He won't publish his clinical research. The only "positive" information is from the clinic's PR people and mostly non-medical "healers." Please do some simple research regarding this movie and topic. It is a dangerous precedent to give free airing to a misleading infomercial. And people's lives are at stake. I don't need to tell you that the audience for such a movie has no barometer to measure the true story. This is no lone maverick hero story.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for contacting Colorado Public Television (CPT12) with your feedback on Burzynski: The Movie. For more than 30 years, we’ve brought independent, challenging and sometimes controversial content to air, at times in the face of individual and group protests. This film falls into that category. For all those years we have trusted the intelligence and judgment of our audience and their ability to discern what might be right for them.

While you may disagree with our choice to air Burzynski, we believe that viewers can be the best judge of the content. Our goal is not to endorse the film or its assertions but simply to present the information.

Serving in our neutral role, we will be bringing a variety of questions and comments up during our live conversation with the film’s director, Eric Merola and Burzynski Clinic spokesperson Azad Rastegar on Thursday, March 7 at 7 p.m.

Thank you again for your comments. We’d like to invite you to bring your ideas and thoughts over to our CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where we are discussing and debating different opinions throughout the week. You can join in now at: http://www.facebook.com/CPT12.

Sincerely,
The CPT12 Staff

Serious Business

Posted: March 2, 2013 by Louise Johnson

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

The Ginsu knife is a product best known for the sales techniques used to promote it. Substitute Burzynski Clinic in the sentence above. Must public television stoop this low just to pay the rent?

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Why no Oncologist?

Posted: March 2, 2013 by David James

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

Please, please, please get an actual Oncologist on to discuss this. You are not providing even close to fair balance. You need to hear from a specialist who can explain the science, or lack thereof, behind the use of Antineoplastons (ANP) as a cancer treatment. This film must be viewed with the proper context applied and the films producer, a spokesman for the clinic and a journalist are not going to provide proper context. Get an oncologist!!

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for contacting Colorado Public Television (CPT12) with your feedback on Burzynski: The Movie. For more than 30 years, we’ve brought independent, challenging and sometimes controversial content to air, at times in the face of individual and group protests. This film falls into that category. For all those years we have trusted the intelligence and judgment of our audience and their ability to discern what might be right for them.

While you may disagree with our choice to air Burzynski, we believe that viewers can be the best judge of the content. Our goal is not to endorse the film or its assertions but simply to present the information.

Serving in our neutral role, we will be bringing a variety of questions and comments up during our live conversation with the film’s director, Eric Merola and Burzynski Clinic spokesperson Azad Rastegar on Thursday, March 7 at 7 p.m.

Thank you again for your comments. We’d like to invite you to bring your ideas and thoughts over to our CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where we are discussing and debating different opinions throughout the week. You can join in now at: http://www.facebook.com/CPT12.

Sincerely,
The CPT12 Staff

What's with all the quacks?

Posted: March 2, 2013 by Ford Canfield

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

You are sure showing a lot of programs featuring doctors selling dietary supplements lately. Believe it or not some people don't accept everything they see and look up people on the internet. I've found that one of these doctors actually doesn't believe there is a link between HIV and AIDS and another shows up on quackwatch. I believe this is a commercialization of PBS and I find it offensive. They're usually just selling books, DVDs and CDs and while I realize those are nice perks for people who pledge I read a review of one of their books and apparently it suggests you go to his website to take a "free evaluation" which seems to nearly always recommend the person buy his supplements which cost lose to $800 a MONTH! Presenting alternative viewpoints and controversial theories is one thing, but at this rate I fully expect a 2 hour special from that company that advertises pills to make men "bigger" on commercial networks anytime now. You are not the PBS I have known for most of my life nor is it like any other PBS station I have seen in any other city I've lived in.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for contacting Colorado Public Television (CPT12) with your concern on our choice of pledge programming. For more than 30 years, we’ve brought independent, challenging and sometimes controversial content to air, at times in the face of individual and group protests. For all those years we have trusted the intelligence and judgment of our audience and their ability to discern what might be right for them.

We believe that viewers can be the best judge of content. Our goal is not to endorse the film or its assertions but simply to present the information.

Thank you again for your comments. We’d like to invite you to bring your ideas and thoughts over to our CPT12 Facebook and Twitter pages (#burzynski) where we are discussing and debating different opinions throughout the week. You can join in now at: http://www.facebook.com/CPT12.”

Sincerely,
The Staff of Colorado PublicTelevision

This is without scruples...

Posted: March 1, 2013 by Bob Blaskiewicz

Program: Burzynski The Movie - Cancer Is Serious Business (68 comments)

This shameless hagiography could easily get some of your viewers killed. Burzynski's people have threatened cancer patients like Wayne Merritt (look him up). I am...positively disgusted that you would air this infomercial. Why not have Dr. David Gorski in to discuss the movie, an actual doctor? Or any oncologist? Not a PR guy? Shameless. Your station really airs some dangerous, awful stuff for pledge week. I couldn't live with myself.

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CPT12 Response:
Thank you for contacting Colorado Public Television (CPT12) with your feedback on Burzynski: The Movie. For more than 30 years, we’ve brought independent, challenging and sometimes controversial content to air, at times in the face of individual and group protests. This film falls into that category. For all those years we have trusted the intelligence and judgment of our audience and their ability to discern what might be right for them.

While you may disagree with our choice to air Burzynski, we believe that viewers can be the best judge of the content. Our goal is not to endorse the film or its assertions but simply to present the information.

Serving in our neutral role, we will be bringing a variety of questions and comments up during our live conversation with the film’s director, Eric Merola and Burzynski Clinic spokesperson Azad Rastegar on Thursday, March 7 at 7 p.m.

Thank you again for your comments.We’d like to invite you to bring your ideas and thoughts over to our CPT12 Facebook page where we are discussing and debating different opinions throughout the week. You can join in now at: http://www.facebook.com/CPT12.”

Sincerely,
CPT12 Staff

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