Teen Cancer Patient Taken From Parents

[cali510]

Hopefully the boy can now get treatment that may save his life......

AP
Minneapolis (May 25)- A 13-year-old cancer patient and his mother are back in Minnesota after fleeing nearly a week ago to avoid court-ordered chemotherapy, a sheriff's office said Monday.

Article at: teen who fled chemo

[cranialnerves]

This is a tough one, cali. I'm on the side of protecting a minor and giving him his best chance, even if he's not thrilled with me.

[cali510]

They changed the article and the headline. Apparently they haven't taken custody away from the parents, yet. I wouldn't want to be involved with custody determinations if the parents continue to resist treatment for him. Ninety per cent chance of survival should not be passed up. Feel sorry that there is all this added stress for everyone involved. Hope for the best for Daniel.

[cali510]

Today Daniel received his first round of chemo. The judge ruled he can stay with his parents as long as they allow him to receive treatment. Charges have been dropped against his mother.

[Ricu]

Interesting story. The related stories are also compelling. I have more questions than answers.

Is it right to intervene and impose treatment regardless of the reasons treatment is refused? Is allopathic medicine the only source of effective threatment? Is it wrong to refuse treatment regardless of age and/or disease process? Is a cure the only thing to seek or hope for? We are conditioned to think that the only correct course is to fight disease to the bitter end and we wrongfully presume that a person who doesn't choose that option is incompetent or doesn't value life.

Working in critical care, I see a lot of heroics performed, many with long-shot odds which most often yield questionable results. What bothers me is when I get a sense that the patient would have preferred to not undergo the process but did so because he or she was pressured into it or believed there was no alternative.

We medical professionals with our sophisticated techno-wizardry now more than ever need to be keenly sensitive to what our patient and his/her support network really want. We don't have to like or agree with what we hear but we really do need to honor it. The right answer doesn't come from us OR the court system.

R

[cali510]

My concern is that the young man is under the control of the parents who only allow one point of view. He might make a different choice if he were given that chance. Until he is free to hear all sides of the issues and to make his own choice, whether or not it coincides with the wishes of his parents, then someone needs to look out for his interests. I don't think that he is quite old enough to understand the finality of death and the consequences of choosing death at so young an age. Seven or eight years from now, when he has had a chance to mature, he might have an entirely different frame of reference.