First of all if he would pull up the correct one that would be nice..I tried
to stay out of this battle but when your wrong your wrong...
----- Original Message -----
From: "FrankandTeri" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, February 13, 2004 8:15 AM
Subject: Re: Focus and Objectives ....
> Your opinions are valued Doctor.
>
> In my quest for helping my wife I looked at Dr. Garg. I gave it very
> serious consideration. I tried to see what he did and just what his cure
or
> treatment was. I am not a rocket scientist but it took me no more than 15
> seconds to realize this was not the road to follow for us.
>
> We are willing to pay a very high price for Hope. There are always those
> who will prey on hope. There are even some who will justify their
> activities by saying "I gave them hope, others could not, others could
not
> cure, hope is better than nothing..."
>
> I need help! I need guidance! I need shared experience! I need science!
>
> I have hope! I have my own religious beliefs! I have my own politics!
>
>
> Frank cg. Teri 52/47/40 15024
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Robert A. Fink, M. D." <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2004 4:34 PM
> Subject: Re: Focus and Objectives ....
>
>
> > On 12 Feb 2004 at 12:11, callie judd wrote:
> >
> > > Dr. Fink: I have to ask you - are you an M.D.? You have the letters,
> > > the credentials, but it would seem your heart is that of a critic and
> > > antagonist...I am certainly cautious of medical personnel such as
> > > yourself since you seem to have lost sight of the objective...to find
> > > ways to overcome lif-threatening conditions!! Your oath says "do no
> > > harm" - don't you think you can be doing harm wasting so much of your
> > > time pursuing the denegration of someone you don't even know? The
> > > world is full of dangers - why don't you focus your energies on the
> > > emotional needs of your patients and yourself and stop focusing on
> > > others as the source of problems. If Dr. Garg truly has something to
> > > offer, time will prove it out...the TRUTH will prevail about him and
> > > about you...meanwhile, perhaps you need to talk to someone who can
> > > help about this obsession you are expressing against someone who is
> > > trying to find workable answers for people who are dying inch by inch
> > > each day and need the hope of us all working together to overcome
> > > their physical and mental deterioration. I do feel sympathy for you
> > > not being able to look at the glass as half full (knowing all glass is
> > > fragile and breakable)....I will always keep your replies offlist
> > > confidential if you desire to do so.... Callie Marie Judd
> >
> > Callie,
> >
> > I am an M. D., and a Board Certified neurosurgeon. I am also a
professor
> at
> > the University of California School of Medicine and I have been working
> > with Parkinson patients (among others) for more than 35 years.
> >
> > I am very sensitive to people who promote "cures" which have not been
> > tested scientifically and have not been peer-reviewed by colleagues in
the
> > field. I am also very dubious of people who claim to be one thing (Dr.
> Garg's
> > literature says that he is a neurosurgeon) and who are not. Just
because
> a
> > condition is a serious one and the full story for "cure" is not known,
> does not
> > justify the promotion of nonscientific "treatments" (often expensive
ones)
> in
> > the commercial way that people like Dr. Garg employ to advocate their
> work.
> > If you read Dr. Garg's postings on the Web, you will also discover that
he
> is
> > asking for *money* to "set up a clinic", here in the USA or elsewhere.
> >
> > You might re-read my comments, published on Al Musella's Website for
> > brain tumor research, involving "alternative treatments" and commercial
> > enterprises such as advertised by Dr. Garg and his proponents. An
> excerpt,
> > dealing initially with a Dr. Burzynski (a doctor who claims to have a
> "cure"
> > for brain tumors), but also with others who have similar "cures",
follows
> > below:
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > My basic position on the Burzynski (and other "non-orthodox"
> > treatment) issue. So far as I am concerned, this is my "last word"
> > on the subject unless people specifically *ask* me for my opinions.
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > BURZYNSKI ET AL, MY BASIC POSITION
> >
> > With the recent repeat run of questions regarding the Burzynski
> > treatment ("antineoplastons"), I have experienced a new set of flames by
> > certain members of this List. My responses to those flames, if any,
have
> > been made to the individuals and have not been posted to the List. I
> > thought, however, that it was time for me to write a little note here
> > about my attitudes towards "alternative therapies" and people like Dr.
> > Burzynski.
> >
> > I am a scientist. What I know about the treatment of disease is based
on
> > research done by myself and others and part of many years of scientific
> > labors by many people. I have seen many positive changes in the
treatment
> > of brain tumors and other neurological disease/injury in my 30-plus
years
> > of work in this field. I also realize that there are still far too many
> > conditions that we cannot cure (gliomas, brain stem tumors, and other
> > conditions). I am confident that, with the advance of science, we will
> > eventually have answers to these currently incurable conditions. In the
> > meantime, our job is to alleviate suffering as much as we can.
> >
> > I am not a neurosurgeon for the money. Most of my colleagues in
> > medicine feel the same way. Yes, we get paid for what we do; indeed,
> > everyone must earn a living in order to support onself and one's family.
> > Some physicians make a great deal of money, but those who do usually do
so
> > because they put in long hours and much effort into their practices.
Even
> > those of us who are wealthy (and I am not one of these!) do not approach
> > the incomes made by some entertainers, sports figures, and others who
some
> > might say do less to earn their incomes.
> >
> > I do not begrudge any physician the ability to make a good income. On
the
> > other hand, I have never refused to care for a patient because they
could
> > not pay; and I have certainly not made a patient pay me simply for going
> > over some records to decide if I would accept them in my care. When
doing
> > research (and I have done my share), I have always done that work with
an
> > affiliation to a major University or other teaching institution, and the
> > work was supported by grants, either Government or private in origin.
> > Patients were not charged for treatment which was experimental or
> > research-oriented. I do not believe that it is ethical for patients to
> > pay for treatment which is experimental and I do not support people who
> > profit from experimenting on patients.
> >
> > There have been many instances where people have advocated new therapies
> > for "dread" illnesses. In the late 1950's when I was a medical student,
> > my best friend, a young man who was but 20 years old, was stricken with
> > testicular cancer and, after surgery and the state-of-the-art treatment
> > for the time (testicular cancer is now highly curable with modern
> > chemotherapy), he subjected himself to a treatment called "Krebiozen", a
> > substance developed by a man whom was later shown to be a charlatan.
> > Sadly, this man attracted the interest of Dr. Andrew Ivy, a Nobel
> > prizewinner from the University of Illinois, and, by connecting Dr.
Ivy's
> > name with Krebiozen, succeeded in profiteering off of hundreds of
> > thousands of cancer sufferers before "skipping the country" with his
> > ill-gained millions, leaving his patients with their disease. Many of
> > these "miracle cures" had their "testimonials" (of long survival or
> > "cure"), but careful scrutiny, using scientific methods of laboratory
> > analysis often proved that there was no cancer to begin with in the
> > "cured" patients. Sadly, in the case of my friend, after his parents
> > depleted their savings for the Krebiozen, Malcolm died in pain at our
> > University Hospital, barely after completion of his sophomore year in
> > medical school. Our graduating class yearbook was dedicated to him.
> >
> > When scientists criticized the nonscientific aspects of Krebiozen and
also
> > criticized the financial aspects of Dr. Durovic (the "inventor"), people
> > literally "came out of the woodwork" to accuse "organized medicine" of
> > trying to "block a new treatment" because such treatment "would cost the
> > medical establishment money". This is a common thread among those who
> > espouse these "new cures" with almost religious zeal. When Dr. Durovic
> > left the country with his money (and Dr. Ivy was disgraced), the
> > "testimonials" stopped.
> >
> > In the seventies and early eighties, another "miracle cure" came
> > around. This one was "Laetrile", an extract made from apricot pits,
> > which contained a small amount of highly toxic cyanide. It was later
> > called "Vitamin B-17" to avoid inclusion as a drug by the FDA. When
> > Laetrile was finally tested by independent laboratories, it was found
that
> > many specimens contained no active ingredients, while other specimens
> > contained levels of cyanide which, in children, could be very toxic and
> > even fatal. Laetrile was sponsored by a Dr. John Richardson, whose
> > practice was right in the next town from where I practiced as a
> > neurosurgeon, and Dr. Richardson's patients came from all over the
country
> > to receive the Laetrile injections. Dr. Richardson had a deal with a
> > local motel where the patients stayed, and there was hardly a week when
> > one or more of these patients, often from a long distance away, would be
> > brought to the Emergency Room of our hospital in a terminal condition
from
> > rapid spread of their cancer (Dr. Richardson could never qualify for
> > hospital privileges and could not admit his patients to the hospital).
I
> > cared for some of these patients during their terminal stages (many of
> > them had metastases to the brain and/or spine), and they all said that
> > they were "cured" by the Laetrile, and that what was going on at the
time
> > was due to "something else". I also, interestingly, ran into several
> > patients who developed non-cancer-related conditions while in the area
for
> > Laetrile treatment; and, while they were receiving care for that
> > condition, tests revealed that there was no evidence of any cancer, or
> > that cancer had ever been present. I was never able to obtain biopsy
> > evidence from Dr. Richardson in those cases.
> >
> > Dr. Richardson eventually, I believe, ran afoul of the legal
> > authorities (I am not sure whether it was medicine-related or
> > tax-related), but he eventually closed his practice and I believe he
> > died some years ago. When the FDA and other University facilities
> > attempted to test Laetrile, no beneficial effect was ever found (when
the
> > patients actually had proven cancer), and the potentially toxic effects
> > were substantiated. I still occasionally hear of someone touting this
> > substance, but it is no longer a major player in "alternative medicine".
> >
> > The common thread in many of these "miracle cures" is the following:
> >
> > 1. The method or "treatment" is *proprietary*; i.e., offered only by
> > one person or institute.
> >
> > 2. It costs a lot of money and payment is usually required to be "up
> > front".
> >
> > 3. The work is not being done through an established University or
> > Government grant. Such work (through Universities or grants) is
> > usually free to the subjects.
> >
> > 4. The publicity for the work is mainly through "testimonials" and not
in
> > accepted, peer-reviewed scientific journals. I recently reviewed some
> > work published in an overseas journal about a new method of treatment of
> > another "dread disease" (Parkinson's disease) and found that the "new
> > method", being advanced by a proprietary researcher, was available only
at
> > the researcher's proprietary facility and was very expensive. There had
> > been a number of articles in this journal attesting to the validity of
the
> > work, but when I finally got a copy of the journal in question, I
> > discovered that it was owned and published by the researcher himself,
and
> > that he was the basic "peer review" person!
> >
> > 5. If anyone attempts to question the motives of the proponents of
> > these new "cures", the responses from the "testimonial people" are
> > vigorous. We (the critics) are merely trying to "preserve the profits
of
> > the medical establishment" and we are persecuting Dr. A or B because he
is
> > threatening us (in orthodox medicine). It is a "conspiracy" to prevent
a
> > new cure from being brought to the public. Why are people so quick to
> > question the motives of scientists? If someone found a cure for cancer
> > tomorrow, don't you think that most of us wouldn't immediately start
using
> > such for our patients as soon as it was shown to be safe and effective.
> > That's what research is all about.
> >
> > There are many diseases and conditions which, to date, are incurable. I
> > cannot cure glioblastomas, brain stem tumors, metastatic melanomas. All
of
> > the orthodox medical armamentarium to date is useless against these
tragic
> > conditions (for cure; we can certainly help temporarily).
> > When a patient wants to try "alternative treatment" under such
> > conditions, I never attempt to block such, as long as they also
> > consider the traditional treatment which may be helpful and which will
not
> > cause unnecessary pain or harm. The destruction of a family's financial
> > resources (by an expensive, unproven treatment method) is just as severe
a
> > side-effect (for the family) as is a reaction to toxic chemotherapy or
> > radiation damage.
> >
> > If therapies such as Dr. Burzynski's "antineoplastons", Essiac tea,
> > shark cartilage, angiogenesis inhibitors, immunotherapy, etc., have
> > value in the treatment of brain tumors, then it will be shown through
> > scientifically-valid research. Such research will be financed by
grants,
> > either private or public, and not by the savings of middle-class and
poor
> > families who are desperately trying to salvage a few weeks or months of
> > life for themselves or a loved one. I would not take my family to many
of
> > these schemes (nor would I accept them myself); and I would advise my
> > patients to avoid some of these as well. If I am asked for my opinions
> > concerning these "cures", I will give my honest reponses, flames or no
> > flames. And I will not be drawn into a "game" of invective and "blame"
by
> > the devotees. As I have said before (and others disagree), medicine is
a
> > science, not a religion, and the eventual cure for malignant disease
will
> > come from scientific fact and not from "belief"!
> >
> >
> > All best,
> >
> > Bob
> >
> > ======================================
> >
> > Please feel free to follow-up on the List, as I have nothing to "hide",
> and
> > believe that questionable "treatment programs" should be exposed to the
> light
> > of day.
> >
> >
> > Best,
> >
> > Bob
> >
> > Robert A. Fink, M. D., F.A.C.S., P. C.
> > Neurological Surgery
> > 2500 Milvia Street Suite 222
> > Berkeley, CA 94704-2636 USA
> > 510-849-2555 FAX: 510-849-2557
> > <http://www.rafink.com/>
> > "Ex Tristitia Virtus"
> >
> > Disclaimer: That which is written in my e-mail is not to be
> > considered as "medical advice". Such advice can only be
> > given after a formal, in-person, consultation between
> > doctor and patient.
> >
> > **********************************************
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to:
> mailto:[log in to unmask]
> > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn
> >
>
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