Teen wins court battle to stop chemo

[blonndee]

Teen wins court battle to stop chemo
'It's everything we fought for, ' boy, 16, says of settlement

Wednesday, August 16, 2006; Posted: 11:26 a.m. EDT (15:26 GMT)

ACCOMAC, Virginia (AP) -- A 16-year-old cancer patient's legal fight ended in victory Wednesday when his family's attorneys and social services officials reached an agreement that would allow him to forgo chemotherapy.

At the start of what was scheduled to be a two-day hearing, Circuit Judge Glen A. Tyler announced that both sides had reached a consent decree, which Tyler approved.

Under the decree, Starchild Abraham Cherrix, who is battling Hodgkin's disease, will be treated by an oncologist of his choice who is board-certified in radiation therapy and interested in alternative treatments.

The family must provide the court updates on Abraham's treatment and condition every three months until he's cured or turns 18.

full story at http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/08/16/cancer.teen.ap/index.html

[beyurslf]

1. Thank goodness. Let this young man make his own choices.

[cornermouse]

2. 16 is too young to choose death.

[blonndee]

3. But his parents aren't too young to make those decisions for him. nt

[karlrschneider]

5. What's the cut-off age, then?

He's old enough to drive...

[GoddessOfGuinness]

6. Maybe he's not choosing death.

I hope not...

[cornermouse]

7. I hope not too, but an organic diet with supplements as a cure?

Skeptic that I am, I just don't believe that will be even close to a cure.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

8. There was a thread about this earlier on DU...

A DUer knew someone who had responded positively to the treatment...

[cornermouse]

11. There can be a certain amount of mind over matter when it comes

to health matters, but relying on "I know someone" as a basis to bet your life? No. Besides, the phrase "responding positively to treatment" doesn't necessarily have much meaning.

[Toots]

13. 16 is the legal age of consent in most states.

Granted they are still considered Minors until eighteen but there is lea way at sixteen.

[Divernan]

4. The decree states that parents were NOT medically neglectful.

What a horrible precedent it would be if the courts could order cancer patients, or patients with any disease or illness to submit to a particular treatment - and especially when it is a treatment with the debilitating side effects of chemotherapy. There have been a few legal cases involving whether a teenager with deteriorating medical conditions has a legal right to execute a do not resuscitate (DNR) order, and/or whether parents of a minor child can do so for that child. I don't recall the outcome of those cases - but it is an extremely difficult issue, particularly for children who are in increasing pain and for whom the question is whether they be allowed sufficient pain medication to control the pain, but which will hasten their deaths by a matter of weeks or months, or whether "heroic" measures be taken to keep them alive but in severe pain for months. This young man is not at that point, and hopefully, the alternate choice he has made or subsequent choices of such things as radiation will cure him.

(More from the article)
Abraham said that he saw the doctor last week, and the doctor assured him that his cancer is curable. The teen said he'll continue following an alternative herbal treatment called the Hoxsey method as well as his doctor's treatment plan. The regimen won't include chemotherapy, but radiation is a possibility, he said.

Last summer, the teen was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymphatic system considered very treatable in its early stages. He was so debilitated by three months of chemotherapy that he declined a second, more intensive round that doctors recommended early this year.He since has been using the Hoxsey method, the sale of which was banned in the United States in 1960.

After Abraham chose to go on the sugar-free, organic diet and take liquid herbal supplements under the supervision of a Mexican clinic, a social worker asked a juvenile court judge to intervene to protect the teen's health. Last month, the judge found Abraham's parents neglectful and ordered Abraham to report to a hospital for treatment as doctors deem necessary.

Lawyers for the family appealed, and an Accomack County Circuit Court judge suspended that order and scheduled a new trial to settle the dispute. The judge scheduled the trial for two days but has indicated he would like to finish in one, said John Stepanovich, a lawyer for the parents.

[knitter4democracy]

9. So, he did make it through one round of chemo.

I remember there was debate about that on the original thread. Three months is a usual time length, from what I understand, and many patients of all different cancers refuse more than one round. Chemo is terrible, and not everyone's body can withstand it or handle it decently at all.

I wish him well.

[Crunchy Frog]

10. Here's a video of an interview with the kid.

http://video.ap.org/v/en-ap/v.htm?g=1D1E4279-9ED9-4A73-B178-1CBAA4DD23E5&t=s60&p=ENAPus_ENAPus&&f=1167537

He seems to have his head on pretty straight, seems rational and to know what he wants. I don't know how you would go about forcing a kid like that to have unwanted chemotherapy. Would they arrest him? Handcuff him to the bed? What if he ran away, rather than have the unwanted treatment.

I think the court made the right decision on this.

[pecwae]

12. He knows what he wants

and what he doesn't. I'm glad the court saw fit to rule in his favor.

edit to add: I know the side effects of chemo and stopped after half of the recommended treatments.

[sgxnk]

14. bravo nt

[hedgehog]

15. He's not choosing to die, he'd choosing to forgo more chemo.

There is a difference. I have no idea what his prognosis is, but he may well have decided that if he's going to die anyways, he's rather have six good months than 10 bad ones or some such. The special diet is just a last ditch effort. It can't hurt and it may help.

[BuddhaGirl]

16. Wonderful news!

Let him make his own choices!

[noonwitch]

17. He's seeing a real oncologist, so that's what's important

My objection was that he didn't want any medical treatment, only wanted alternative treatments and his parents were not making good decisions for him.

I believe that alternative treatments are helpful in most illnesses, because they help the medical treatment along.

I hope whatever treatment he gets works.

[hedgehog]

18. Sometimes cancer patients need to be able to stop therapy

People do die from cancer. It's a hard thing to say because we have all seen so many hopeless cases that were cured because the doctor and patient went the extra mile. It's hard to say when a therapy is futile and causing more suffering than the cancer itself. It's not like trying to treat a broken leg with prayer. There are so many gray areas with some cancers that it may well be that the family was making a good decision.