Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Cut Poison Burn LIVE Q&A Transcript 9/21/12



Please check out the
Cut Poison Burn LIVE Q&A Transcript of the film participants and producers below:

Question: How were you approached to do the film?
  Lou Cimino: When I started writing the film I met Dr. Burzynski in Houston and he told me about Donna. I met her and Jim and they told me the story of Thomas and it was a very very hard story and I wanted to do my best to immortalize their child so that what they went through wasn't in vain.
Donna Navarro: I'm grateful I met Lou. We had a documentary crew follow us around for 10 years, and Lou was able to incorporate our footage into his film to bring awareness for medical freedom.

   Question: There is a bill now in front of the House and Senate. Can
   you take these people through this?
   Donna Navarro: There is a bill out there the HR6342 COMPASSIONATE
   FREEDOM OF CHOICE ACT. This enables the patient to use drugs,
   treatments and devices that have not yet been approved by the Food and
   Drug Administration. You can contact representatives of your state.
   They need to support. You can track this bill by going to govtrack.us,
   where you can track in real time. It is in committee waiting to be
   voted on before it goes to the House to be voted on. We need a lot of
   support. Also, Ron Paul is retiring. When he retires this bill is
   going to die, and we will need a new Congressmen or Senator to
   introduce this again.

   Question: What do recommend to families in a similar situation?
   Donna Navarro: It's very hard to get around conventional medicine.
   With a child you have to follow protocols that FDA sets up and if you
   try usurping them, your child can be taken away. Do your research.

   Question: Is every state different?
   Donna Navarro: Every state has different medical freedoms and the
   rights of parents but none of them truly give the right to choose the
   modality of treatment.

   Question: What is the best form of alternative therapy you have come
   across?
   Donna Navarro: Every cancer has different aspects to it, and different
   kinds of treatment. Medicine is an art. Dr. S. Burzynski has the best
   for the treatment of brain cancers. Antineoplaston treatment is what
   we wanted for Thomas, who had Medulloblastoma, a form of brain cancer.

   Question: How did you choose what to show?
   Charlie Sadoff: An example of a scene that we debated over how much to
   include was the scene towards the end of the film where Donna is woken
   up by Thomas, and he is struggling. It’s a tough scene to watch
   but we decided to include as much as we could so the audience could
   experience as much as they could what Donna and Jim were going
   through. We showed this scene to Jim before we finalized it, and Jim
   gave his blessing.

   Question: What can they do outside the bill to spread the word about
   this issue?
   Larry Meistrich: We are distributing this film so that people can have
   a voice. Like us on Facebook, tell your friends, look at our blog.
   Email us if you want to show this to your church or synagogue, or
   local community group. What we decided to do with the film is to offer
   Personal Value Pricing. If people can't afford to pay for it, people
   can download it and pay what they can for the film. We care about
   getting the message out, and we want Thomas' story to be the last like
   this.

   Question: What was Thomas like? Donna Navarro: Thomas was opinionated
   and strong child with a very strong faith in God. He never gave up.

   Question: How do you defeat the FDA?
   Donna Navarro: I don't know how you defeat the FDA! Keep on knocking
   on their doors. They are not elected they are appointed. 
   They don't  change with administrations.
   Charlie Sadoff: Sunlight always helps which is the point of the film.
   The FDA is autonomous. Oversight from Congress isn't very strong.
   Congress needs to force the FDA to look at their mandate. And private
   industry can help as well if they can come up with ways of getting
   certain drugs into the market that are not FDA approved.

   Question: Who are the politicians that are supporting this bill?
   Donna Navarro: Ron Paul introduced it. The four co-sponsors are Paul
   Broun from Georgia, Dan Burton from Indiana, Morgan H. Griffith from
   Virginia, and Richard Hanna from New York. We need more sponsors so
   please write to your representatives and tell them to support the Bill!

   Question: What should people say when they reach out?
   Donna Navarro: Tell them to support HR6342: The Compassionate Freedom
   Act, be concise and to the point. They look at you as 1,000 votes.
   Charlie Sadoff: it's been crafted to be bipartistan and has a really
   low bar for approval. It's a first step. It should get broader
   support. Congress isn't doing much of anything these days, but if you
   can, try to make your representatives aware of it.

   Question: Is this bill just about medical freedom for children or
   adults?
   Donna Navarro: It’s for children and adults.

   Question: While filming this documentary did the crew become
   emotional?
   Donna Navarro: No, not really. They were doing everything with us and
   through us and sometimes they got emotional. We were really a family
and we understood our boundaries. Sometimes we would need to push them
   out of the room, but they understood.

   Question: How about the cutting room?
   Charlie Sadoff: Yes, of course you do get emotional and you get to
   know the people in the movie. In the end you try to tell the best
   story you can.

   Question: Are you able to see Dr. Burzynski for treatment?
   Donna Navarro: Dr. Burzinsky can see patients if you fit the FDA
   protocol they set up. He is currently treating patients.

   Question: The film started out as a play. Can you talk about the path
   this project took?
   Lou Cimino: I started writing a play Cut Poison Burn in 1989 and I
   started researching doctors in sort of the medical underground. I was
   finding people who had been harassed and arrested for treating
   patients.

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