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This month, several scientists, skeptics, and concerned members of the public have been bringing attention to the Burzynski cancer clinic in Houston, Texas. Many desperate cancer patients have sought out the experimental treatments Burzynski offers, hoping both for a more effective and less debilitating regimen of care than they believe mainstream medicine can provide. But after decades of performing these very expensive treatments and barely publishing any results in peer-reviewed medical journals, it’s looking like Stanislaw Burzynski may be nothing more than a cancer quack.

We have explored the truth behind the Burzynski Clinic in two of our JREF digital productions. First, on the latest episode of our video series The Randi Show, James Randi talks about his own experience undergoing chemotherapy and excoriates those charlatans and unethical doctors who profit from people in need of real medical help. You can watch that episode below or on our YouTube page.

And on the latest episode of our podcast Consequence, host Brian Thompson talks with oncologist David Gorski about the methods Burzynski uses and the reasons medical professionals are suspicious of the Burzynski Clinic’s operation. Plus, researcher and activist Bob Blaskiewicz takes listeners through some case studies of people who have been treated at the clinic and points us to his website, TheHoustonCancerQuack.com, which has become an invaluable resource for those seeking more information about Stanislaw Burzynski’s apparently spurious claims. You can listen to that episode here and subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

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Here is a rundown of the top stories in pseudoscience, anomalies and just plain oddball stuff from the past week courtesy of Doubtful News

Celebrities were being very ridiculous this week. National Football League ex-player Bernie Kosar hypes a mysterious brain treatment. 

Former actress, now turned health "advocate" Suzanne Somers spouts complete nonsense about toxins. 

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Here is a recap of the stories that appeared last week at Science-Based Medicine, a multi-author skeptical blog that separates the science from the woo-woo in medicine.  

Everything we eat causes cancer…sort of (David Gorski) http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/everything-we-eat-causes-cancer/ A study of cookbooks finds that the great majority of ingredients in our food have been associated with cancer in at least one study. Such studies offer weak preliminary findings of association, not of causation. They make the news, but they are not reasons to fear our food.  

Rituximab for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Jumping the Gun (Harriet Hall) http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/rituximab-for-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-jumping-the-g/ CFS patients from as far away as Norway are spending thousands of dollars to travel to San Francisco for a questionable treatment with a risky IV drug, based only on very preliminary, shaky evidence. Some are under the false impression that this off-label treatment of individuals constitutes a scientific study, and there are other ethical concerns.  

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The following is a contribution to the JREF’s ongoing blog series on skepticism and education. If you are an educator and would like to contribute to this series, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Professional educators are driven by intrinsic, not extrinsic, motivation. We’re motivated not by financial reward (teaching isn’t exactly the most lucrative profession) but by our desire to inform, to enlighten, and to promote critical thinking. We’re passionate about these things. We want to make a difference. Put simply: we’re motivated by our idealism.

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We were flooded with weird and interesting stories all week. Back to normal...

Here is a rundown of the top stories in pseudoscience, anomalies and general stuff that might make you a little discouraged from the past week courtesy of Doubtful News.

There were several stories about curious phenomena that turned out to be NOT so mysterious.

  1. Last Week At Science-Based Medicine
  2. Sad News
  3. New Video from The Amaz!ng Meeting 2012: Science & Skepticism 101
  4. Wrong Again And Loving It