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Photograph by Robert Scheer

Philip Zelek cringed as a nurse drew his blood at the Palo Alto Medical Clinic two weeks ago. As part of his treatment for brain cancer, Philip has to travel to the clinic three times a week for blood tests.

Family asks community to help save son

By Steve Enders

Six-year-old Philip Zelek lies on his family's couch watching cartoons after a long day, just like any other boy in first grade.

Philip is different, though.

Attached to a shoebox-size machine that feeds him medicine intravenously 24 hours a day, he doesn't fully comprehend what's happening--like why he's so tired or why he and his mother, Yolanta, drive three times a week to Palo Alto for blood tests. Or why they travel once a month to meet with doctors in Houston.

Philip has brain cancer, and the rigorous drug treatment and traveling schedules are taking a toll on the young boy. They are also taking a toll on the Zeleks' pocketbook.

The Zeleks need to come up with the $80,000 it costs each year to pay for expenses not covered under their insurance: certain types of medicine, airfare and doctors' fees. So the family, which emigrated from Poland 13 years ago, is reaching out to the community for help.

Since late last year, Yolanta and Philip's father, Voytek Zelek, have dropped letters asking for help on doorsteps in Sunnyvale, Saratoga, Palo Alto and Cupertino. So far, with help from Yolanta's relatives, they have received nearly 2,500 letters and have raised $80,000. Fundraisers at Voytek's employer, the Peninsula Bible Church, also raised a portion of the money.

"We started putting [the letters] in mailboxes until someone called us and told us it was illegal. So now we put them on doorsteps," Yolanta said.

Philip's father said about 7 percent of the original 200 letters they sent out came back with checks. Yolanta added that most came right before Christmas.

In addition to the letters, a Care Fund for Philip was established at the Peninsula Bible Church. The family also sent a letter to a Polish newspaper in New York, which then wrote an article about Philip. The article elicited several checks and letters.

"People write us letters with their experiences and give encouragement. People call us and say not to give up," Yolanta said.

With the way Philip's treatment has progressed so far, the family needs all the encouragement it can get.

Philip's doctors originally treated the tumor with regular radiation therapy in September 1997, but after two months, the treatment was unsuccessful. The only thing Philip has to show for it is a head of brown hair. Before the treatment, his hair was blond.

"I like it," Philip says, smiling.

Philip also underwent surgery in August 1997, but doctors couldn't remove the tumor because a large vein is positioned in its center, Voytek said.

Now the Zeleks have resorted to a controversial, nontoxic form of chemotherapy that isn't covered by insurance. Since the treatments began in December, Philip's cancer hasn't advanced, his father said.

"We just have to wait for the first sign to see if the medicine works. It's easy to monitor, and [the cancer] is not growing anymore," Voytek explained.

The originator of the therapy, Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski, has been the focus of books and the nation's news media because of recent federal investigations and congressional hearings regarding his practices.

Philip is not being treated by Burzynski but by another doctor trained in his methods.

In 1997, Burzynski was acquitted on charges he was transporting an experimental cancer drug across state lines, which is illegal.

His methods have also sparked debate in the medical and pharmaceutical communities about why the Food and Drug Administration doesn't accept his medicine, which he and his patients say has been proven to work.

"The Burzynski method," as Yolanta calls it, isn't recognized by the FDA except for use in clinical trials, which Philip is a part of.

The drugs doctors give to Philip are called "antineoplastons." They are touted by patients and other doctors as having amazing effects, especially on brain and prostate cancer.

Instead of killing the cancer cells, the antineoplastons--made up of amino acids and peptides--are said to reverse them, turning the cells back into normal, healthy cells.

Yolanta says that doctors at Stanford Medical Center told her Philip's cancer would have a zero percent chance of remission if he had standard medical treatments. They said that eventually the cancer would surely kill him.

With the kind of therapy he's getting however, his new doctors tell the Zeleks there's a good chance he may be cured.

"We have no other choice," Yolanta said as to why they are choosing this treatment. "There are no other ways we could go."

To donate to the Philip Zelek fund, call the Peninsula Bible Church at 650/494-3840.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, February 18, 1998.
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