Court forcing 16 yr old with cancer into chemo

[scaeagles]

Anyone else heard this story?

This pisses me off like you cannot imagine. As I understand it, a 16 year old who has been through chemo in he past wants to pursue alternatives treatments. His parents are supportive of that decision. A court has ruled he must undergo chemotherapy and not pursue alternative treatments.

I have no words to express how this sickens me.

[tracilicious]

That's disgusting. Having personally known four people cured of cancer with alternative treatments (one of them being given 12 months to live, now alive six years later and cancer free) this bothers me a lot. I'm not saying chemo never works, but some doctors are so ignorant of other treatments that it is sickening.

[scaeagles]

I'll add that I don't really care if other treatments work. The government should not be able to force someone into medical treatment they don't want.

I will add that I don't think the Christian Science approach with small children not being given any medical treatment is OK. That has to do with the child having no knowledge of what's going on. In this case, the boy clearly has an understanding.

[Moonliner]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

the boy clearly has an understanding.

But Starchild Abraham Cherrix's (yes, that's his name) is also still a minor and not legally responsible for his own life.

He has Hodgkin's disease. Without proper treatment he will die. With treatment he has a better than 85% of a complete cure.

So what you are arguing for here, is the right of a parent to let their child die while they feed him the "organic diet and herbal supplements" prescribed by a mexican clinic rather than the the standard ABVD chemotherapy regimen.

[tracilicious]

Originally Posted by Moonliner

So what you are arguing for here, is the right of a parent to let their child die while they feed him the "organic diet and herbal supplements" prescribed by a mexican clinic rather than the the standard ABVD chemotherapy regimen.

Who says he would die? And did they say they'd be going to Mexico? There are many, many, alternatives to chemo in the US.

[Moonliner]

Originally Posted by tracilicious

Who says he would die? And did they say they'd be going to Mexico? There are many, many, alternatives to chemo in the US.

Death is the outcome for untreated Hodgkins. From the reports here he is quite far along with the disease and the probability of his recovering without treatment is essentially nil.

and yes, his parents did say they have taken him to Mexico and that their treament plan for him is the organic diet.

[tracilicious]

Originally Posted by Moonliner

Death is the outcome for untreated Hodgkins. From the reports here he is quite far along with the disease and the probability of his recovering without treatment is essentially nil.

and yes, his parents did say they have taken him to Mexico and that their treament plan for him is the organic diet.

I don't feel qualified to comment on the proper course for this specific case. Nor do I know anything about Hodgkin's in general. And I should add that out of the people I know that treated their cancer without chemo, only one went to Mexico, and she also got traditional surgeries here in the states.

But most any kind of malignant cancer will kill you if you don't treat it. That's not to say that people that seek alternatives are just marching to the grave. And a cancer diet is much much more than just an organic diet. I eat an organic diet, and it wouldn't cure me of cancer if I had it. It's a complex system of certain foods eaten at certain times of day that takes into account the individual and all systems of the body and the chemical reactions that affect them.

Many herbs can do the exact same thing that synthetic medicines can do, but better and with fewer side effects. The US government is only starting to research it, but Germany has been doing placebo controlled double blind studies on herbs for two decades. It's not as if it's some quack on a beanbag burning incense and willing cancer away.

[BarTopDancer]

Originally Posted by tracilicious

Who says he would die? And did they say they'd be going to Mexico? There are many, many, alternatives to chemo in the US.

I saw this on the news. They were seeking treatment in Mexico.

[tracilicious]

Yes, I agree, Scaeagles. It also bothers me that they are treating alternative therapies like he is going to wear crystals and try to walk on water or something.

[scaeagles]

I hear what you're saying, Moon, but it still angers me. This should no be within the purview of the government. Is a crime being committed? I don't know. Perhaps if the kid dies the parents could be prosecuted for negligent homicide.