Mum Laura Hymas, who is fighting a brain tumour, has received some great news to start 2012… but husband Ben hits back on their blog at critics of her treatment.
Laura’s story was placed in the DAILY MIRROR and BELLA magazine last summer about how she was told by doctors in the UK that her brain tumour was inoperable. Laura and husband Ben could not believe that nothing could be done so set out to find an alternative cure. They managed to find a clinic in Huston, Texas, run by Dr. Burzynski, that pioneers new treatment for the malignant brain cancer Laura has. The only issue was it was controversial therapy, it would cost £75,000 – and they would have to pay it themselves.
As well as the articles in the paper and the magazine, Ben conducted an incredible online Twitter and Facebook campaign to get Laura to this clinic in the USA. Amazingly their appeal went viral as celebrities and the public were all moved by Laura’s plight.
Remarkably, the family raised the funds to travel to the clinic and in August 2011, began the treatment.
In his latest blog, Ben says Laura’s most recent scan on January 10th, revealed that the tumour had decreased a massive 56% in size since the beginning of the treatment. He adds this is incredible news as Dr. Burzynski and his clinic have been under constant heavy criticism from people believing that he is a ‘quack’ that gives ‘false hope’ to terminally ill people.
Ben says, “There is a lot of criticism out there at the moment about Dr Burzynski, these people are all saying that Antineoplastons are “unproven” and that Dr Burzynski is a scam artist taking money from dying cancer patients and that terminally ill cancer patients should be discouraged from the “False Hope” he gives people, as they put it.
“These people seem to think we aren’t intelligent enough to make decisions and decide for ourselves our own treatment path for our own bodies. Medical treatment is a very personal decision, especially if we have already tried and exhausted currently available “conventional” medicine.”
Ben adds that Laura has good days and bad days. “Every time Laura has a bad day where she feels exhausted we worry the tumour has suddenly started to grow again! Then the next day she’ll have a really good day … then Laura might have an epileptic seizure, even though she has a LOT less of them now.”
He describes how both of them fret before a scan. “For me I start thinking silly things, like ‘I’ve let Laura eat bad food, made her stay up late some nights watching TV instead of resting… crazy thoughts but unfortunately all sorts of worries will go through our minds at this point.”
Laura, who was diagnosed with the tumour just over a year ago, also describes what it is like living with a malignant brain tumour. Writes Ben: “She says it’s so awful it makes you feel like a character in the film ‘Saw’. It’s like someone has put this time bomb inside our head, it will grow fast and the more it grows you will slowly become more disabled. Doctors tell us that current available medicines can only slow it down – there are never any survivors 12 – 14 months from diagnosis is the prognosis. Eventually it will win and you will lose the fight.”
This is why the couple feel fortunate to have been given the chance to at least try this treatment. And the latest scan shows her tumour is at least 25% smaller than the last scan in November. It has decreased 56% in size since beginning the American treatment last August.
About Laura’s improvement, Ben said, “I stood shocked, Laura burst into tears. We are so shocked, what an amazing start to 2012… Whatever happens next we need to keep fund raising to keep Laura on this medicine into 2013.”
