Diana, thanks for the heads-up (below)...
Unless I missed something, I STILL don't see an adequate response by
either the NCI or the GAO [to date] to Dr. Gold's strong assertion
that the government studies (NCI, 1989-1993) on Hydrazine Sulfate
were tainted when participants A) used tranquilizers and other meds
specifically NOT recommended to be used in conjunction with
Hydrazine; and, B) participants were not required to maintain the
recommended diet, which without such discipline, negates or [by
Gold's contentions] impairs or even damages the drug's effects. Nor
do I find Counsel Jeffery Robbin's assertion flawed that the GAO's
findings supporting the NCI studies are themselves also "plainly
absurd." I personally see the gross negligence on the part of both
government agencies a dangerous [and perhaps calculated] action in
the hands of the influential -- that is as far as what and who
influences the traditional medicine "commercial machine." Someone,
please correct me if I am wrong.
Look, I'm not necessarily out to join Guccione's passionate fight
against the "establishment" in this case (although I agree and
recognize his justification), I just want to see people having access
to anything that will help them. I also have been privy to the fact
that most of us feel inadequate in managing our own course of
treatment, especially when it's a life and death issue. Therefore,
having the medical community on "the side" of any course of treatment
that [for 25 years] has shown dramatic evidence to [at the very
least] impact the wasting-away syndrome (if not to manage pain and
possibly reduce the spread of tumors), gives us more confidence in
utilizing these [mostly] proven alternative courses of treatment...
therefore justifying the utilization of healthcare practitioners at
all, for aren't they SUPPOSED to use any rational means to aid in
the health and comfort of their patients? (and not jump on the
bandwagon of exploitative efforts for their own benefit.)
This, like any scenario which hits home -- that is, either
ourselves or those we love -- ignites strong emotions. Yet, it is
imperative for those of us to maintain a sense of balance and look at
these sorts of "dialogues" from a clinical distance. Unless I missed
the boat in "con-law" class, Dr. Gold's allegations have not been
appropriately answered to as yet, and opinions on both the NCI's poor
test methodologies and the GAO's shabby watchguarding efforts have
not been refuted. And therefore, I am not moved. The GAO's response
to date is merely political babble, and not very clever at that --
typical and disappointing. Mary Z.
Diana wrote (Tue, 6 Jan 1998 17:50:23 EST):
> From: LINHILLIS <LINHILLIS@aol.com>
> Date: Tue, 6 Jan 1998 17:50:23 EST
> To: mol-cancer@lists.meds.com
> Subject: [MOL] Re: [News articleon Hydrazine Sulfate (fwd)
> Organization: AOL (http://www.aol.com)
> Reply-to: mol-cancer@lists.meds.com
> Hi Bob, John, Marty, Mary Z & a;;
> Will try and send again, Thought this was interesting, What do you
> think? Diana
<< ia/leukemia.html
> -----------------
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Subj: Senate Subcommittee Counsel Validates Penthouse Magazine's
> Accusation That A Go
> Date: 97-10-20 16:07:04 EDT
> From: AOL News
>
> WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 20, 1997--
>
> Chief Minority Counsel Says G.A.O. Conclusions About Hydrazine Sulfate
> Tests Were "Plainly Absurd" and "Extremely Misleading"
> Following leads developed in investigative reports in Penthouse
> magazine, the Chief Counsel for the Minority of the Permanent
> Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate has sharply
> criticized the Government Accounting Office (G.A.O.) for issuing an
> "extremely misleading" report on studies to determine the
> effectiveness of hydrazine sulfate, an inexpensive cancer fighting
> drug.
> An investigation by the G.A.O. of tests conducted by the
> National Cancer Institute (N.C.I.) had been demanded by Penthouse as
> part of the magazine's long campaign to get a fair trial for
> hydrazine sulfate. Penthouse had alleged that for political purposes
> the N.C.I. deliberately sabotaged the human trials of hydrazine
> sulphate, and that the G.A.O. had ignored evidence that the tests
> were flawed.
> In a scathing letter to Marsha Lillie-Blanton, associate
director
> for Health Services Quality and Public Health Issues of the G.A.O.,
> minority counsel Jeffrey S. Robbins charged that the G.A.O.'s
> findings after investigating tests of the drug by the N.C.I. were
> themselves "plainly absurd."
> Robbin's seven-page letter denounced the G.A.O. for issuing a
> report with the title, "Contrary to Allegations, N.I.H. (National
> Institutes of Health) Hydrazine Sulfate Studies Were Not Flawed."
> Robbins says the G.A.O.'s own investigation of the studies was deeply
> flawed. The G.A.O. is the watchdog authority responsible for
> monitoring performance by government agencies.
> "The findings by Mr. Robbins fully validate a report in the
> September Penthouse charging that the G.A.O. is in collusion with
> the N.C.I. to suppress public knowledge of this exceptional drug,"
> said Bob Guccione, publisher of Penthouse. The report was called
> "The $200 Billion Scam--In the War Against Cancer, Our Government is
> the Enemy."
> Since the early 1980s Penthouse had urged valid government
> sponsored tests for hydrazine sulfate, but had uncovered evidence
> that when they finally took place, the tests were intentionally
> sabotaged by the N.C.I. Subsequently, the magazine reported, the
> G.A.O. accepted the N.C.I. test process despite considerable
> evidence that the studies conducted from 1989 to 1993 were purposely
> compromised.
> Joseph Gold, M.D., director of the Syracuse Cancer Research
> Institute and chief developer of hydrazine sulfate as a cancer
> therapy, had complained that the N.C.I. allowed patients in its
> tests of the drug to break protocol and use tranquilizers and other
> incompatible substances, effectively canceling out the beneficial
> effects of the drug, killing some patients and causing others to
> become much sicker.
> "Since the N.C.I. studies involved the administration of
> tranquilizers to virtually all patients concurrently with hydrazine
> sulfate, and since the precise allegation has been that use of the
> tranquilizers renders hydrazine sulfate ineffective, it is axiomatic
> that if they are ineffective, the N.C.I. studies are not merely
> flawed, but fundamentally flawed," said Mr. Robbins. "Yet the
> G.A.O. has pronounced conclusively that the N.C.I. studies' were
> not flawed,' while at the same time admitting that it has no idea
> whether or not the underlying allegation is true."
> According to his letter, when he first confronted the G.A.O.
> with his concerns, Mr. Robbins was told that "not many people read
> G.A.O. reports," he wrote in his letter to Ms. Lillie-Blanton. "I
> responded that I did not believe that was the case and that many
> people, including Members of Congress and their staffs, do rely on
> G.A.O. reports...and that the statement that not many people read a
> report is a very weak justification for false, misleading, or
> baseless information contained in a government publication."
> The Senate subcommittee letter has added significance because
> Penthouse and its parent company, General Media International, have
> issued a call for families of patients in the tests of hydrazine
> sulfate to participate in a class-action lawsuit under consideration
> against the N.C.I. "We have already received a sufficient number of
> potential plaintiffs to commence a class-action suit and are now
> considering where and when to file," according to Mr. Guccione, who
> is also Chairman and CEO of General Media.
> One of the strongest advocates of hydrazine sulfate was Kathy
> Keeton Guccione, Vice Chairman of General Media who believed the drug
> was instrumental in extending her life after she was discovered to
> have breast cancer in May, 1995 and was given six weeks to live. Ms.
> Keeton died in September of this year of complications following
> surgery to remove an intestinal blockage.
> "Kathy was aware that the Senate subcommittee was investigating
> the bizarre conclusions reached by the G.A.O. and she would have
> been extremely pleased that the cancer establishment and those who
> seem to accept its arrogant findings at face value are finally being
> called to task by a conscientious subcommittee counsel," said Mr.
> Guccione, her husband.
> Mr. Robbins said in his letter that the G.A.O. had never
> adequately addressed serious concerns about the studies of hydrazine
> sulfate raised by Dr. Gold. "The seriousness of (Gold's) points,
> and the obvious need to ensure that potential tools against cancer
> are evaluated in a rational way," require that the G.A.O. address
> Gold's questions "squarely, and not in an inapposite or conclusory
> fashion."
> "You have indicated that you believe that the G.A.O. report has
> problems warranting correction," Mr. Robbins wrote in his
> seven-page letter. He urged the agency to force the N.C.I. to be
> responsive to new questions about its testing in a manner that
> "inspired confidence."
> -0-
> For more information, a faxed copy of letter from Jeffrey Robbins
> to G.A.O., or for interviews with Bob Guccione or Dr. Joseph Gold,
> contact: Jackie Markham or Heather Krug at: 212-687-1765 or
> 212-702-6000 ext. 1901
> CONTACT:
> Jackie Markham/Heather Krug
> 212/687-1765
> 212/702-6000 ext. 1901
>
> To edit your profile, go to keyword NewsProfiles.
> For all of today's news, go to keywor >>
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