Matt Smith
Update October 14, 2014
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Dr. Barbara,
It was awfully nice to get to talk to you after all these years. Please let Dr. Burzynski know how much his work has blessed my life and the lives of my wife and daughters. The attached photo is from last Friday. My wife is Carolyn, our oldest daughter Anna, the younger is Rebecca.
Kind Regards,
Matt Smith
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I began treatment with anti-neoplastons in March of 1997. I stayed at the clinic until I’d received sufficient training to prepare my I.V. medicine, learn when and how to change the tubing, change the dressing on my implant and other necessary medical maintenance procedures. The Burzynski clinic carefully watched my progress with the treatment, kept a close eye on my fluid intake, made sure I had regular MRI scans, and made sure I had doctor back in Las Vegas to monitor my treatment once I went home. The staff was not only professional but easy to get along with.
After just a few weeks on the I.V. treatment my neurologist confirmed from an MRI scan that the tumor was 15% smaller than a previous MRI. This was extraordinary news but after another couple of months (June, 1997) on the treatment, the tumor only diminished another 12%. Although I was on a fairly high dosage of the medication, Dr. Burzynski increased my dose to a higher level. I took the higher dose for two months and had another scan at the end of July, 1997 and the tumor had all but diminished entirely.
I stayed on the medication for a year and then I was able to take the anti-neoplaston treatment orally. I stayed with the oral treatment for several months until an MRI scan showed a small recurrence according to my local neurologist, Dr. Glyman. It was Dr. Burzynski opinion that I should go back on the full I.V. dose for a longer period of time.
As it turned out, I went back on the full dose in December, 1998. The next scan I had in January, 1999 came back normal—with no indication of the tumor whatever and to this day I’ve not had any indication of recurrence on the scans. I completed the treatment in March 2000 and have not had any medication since that time.
Being on the I.V. treatment was not easy. But after the treatment was over, my neurologist confided in me that had I received radiation or some of the other options (which have proven largely ineffective for my condition) my quality of life would have been compromised to some degree because of the reduced brain functionality. I understood this from the research me and my family had done while I was investigating my options but this was the first time my personal physician had admitted it.
During and since the treatment, I’ve been able to continue normal activities. This is due to the non-toxic nature of the medication, unlike some of the other treatments used for a brainstem glioma. In 1999 I got married to Carolyn Bodily and in December of that same year we had a baby girl we named Anna. On July 30, 2001 we had another baby girl we named Rebecca. For nearly the entire duration of my treatment I continued to work for the same company, so I was able to work.
As far as my nursing skills are concerned, a doctor in the E.R. brought his staff in to see my catheter implant after it had been in for nearly three years and proudly told them how long I had had it and that it was because “I didn’t let anyone else touch it.” That was true, although I didn’t tell him that in those words. On another occasion, a home health nurse from my insurance company came to see if I could change my I.V. dressing. She was a little over-bearing and stiff about the whole affair until she watched the way I did it. There was a noticeable change in her demeanor I suppose because I did a good job. The nurses at Burzynski had trained me with precision. I have to admit, though, I didn’t follow the procedures to the letter in a lot of cases. I learned why certain procedures were followed and what things I could do without and in this way, saved some money on supplies. For instance, I didn’t change my dressing as much as I was told you were supposed to. I did keep it very clean, however. I found that if I changed it too much, the adhesive was hard on my skin. I found other shortcuts that paid off in saved time and money but I was very careful, notwithstanding.
Matt Smith, February 4, 2002