As Stanislaw Burzynski heads to court again to answer charges made by a variety of patients to the Texas Medical Board, he is doubtlessly preparing by getting the testimony of current and former patients. In anticipation of this pony’s one trick, we are going to start telling the stories of patients who have testified on Burzynski’s behalf over the course of his long, dubious career and see where they are now.

Our first patient is an MD and stage-IV breast cancer patient who testified in court for Burzynski in 2012, named Elka B. She was receiving chemotherapy from Burzynski:

Elke’s obituary, which ran in early November of this year (and is lovely–you should certainly read it, as she was a staggeringly kind and generous person), encapsulates the desperation that Burzynski’s patients and their families feel:

By the time Elke’s cancer was discovered, it had spread throughout her body. Doctors gave her a 5 percent chance of living five years, [her husband] said. She lived for 12.

At one point, [her husband] took Elke to a clinic in Texas, where out-of-pocket costs ran in the tens of thousands. “I don’t care if I have to live in a barn with you,” he told her. “I just want you to live.”

We should note that we do not know how long Elke was at the Burzynski Clinic, only that she was under treatment not even two years ago.

Elke will not be testifying for Burzynski in the upcoming trial.

For more patients who have testified for Burzynski and who are now dead see: Douglas W’s story and Janet C’s story.