Court forcing 16 yr old with cancer into chemo

[Morrigoon]

I guess that'll depend on the agenda of the person you ask

I'm just glad to see that the right to determine one's own fate, even stupidly, is still occasionally granted in this country.

(Actually, given his past experience with chemo, his decision is not exactly stupid. Justified would be a better word.)

[DreadPirateRoberts]

Originally Posted by Morrigoon

(Actually, given his past experience with chemo, his decision is not exactly stupid. Justified would be a better word.)

Sometimes the cure can be almost as bad as the disease.

[Prudence]

Originally Posted by DreadPirateRoberts

Sometimes the cure can be almost as bad as the disease.

Some times it can be worse.

[Alex]

I could go with that if he were expressing the desire to die with dignity. He isn't, he thinks this treatment is more likely to cure him than the traditional treatments.

Since he doesn't want to die (apparently) it is hard to see how the treatment could be worse than the disease, which will certainly kill him.

[DreadPirateRoberts]

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

Since he doesn't want to die (apparently) it is hard to see how the treatment could be worse than the disease, which will certainly kill him.

I was thinking of his reaction to chemotherapy, and how hard it can be on the body:

He was so debilitated by three months of chemotherapy that he declined a second, more intensive round that doctors recommended early this year.

I agree that his Hoxsey method and radiation probably won't be worse than the disease (I hope).

[Prudence]

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

I could go with that if he were expressing the desire to die with dignity. He isn't, he thinks this treatment is more likely to cure him than the traditional treatments.

Since he doesn't want to die (apparently) it is hard to see how the treatment could be worse than the disease, which will certainly kill him.

It depends on individual reactions to treatment methods. It is possible that the treatment will kill faster than the disease. That's why my grandmother stopped her chemo. The cancer would kill her over a period of years (turned out to be a decade or so) but one more chemo treatment would have done her in. I'm not suggesting that is the case with this particular boy; I was merely responding to the "sometimes" statement I quoted.