Should parents be allowed to refuse cancer treatments for their sick children?

I lost my son to Hodgkin's Lymphoma December 28, 2008 and we were also told that Hodgkin's Lymphoma was the most curable kind of cancer. His was in his chest on the outside of his right lung and he had the cough just like Daniel. He was just a month short of being 21 yrs old. He fought this for 18 long months and went through 6 different kinds of chemos, xrays, cat scans, pet scans, labs, hospital stays, surgeries and he was doing very well with the first chemo. No side effects, never lost his hair or was really sick. Just tired. Well about his 6th round of it he had a side effect to one of the chemos and he got a toxicity in his lung lymph nodes. When he had his biopsy surgery during this time they lost him twice in surgery. But God willing he came out fine and continued treatment with his second kind of chemo. Well this didn't touch it then we went with another and another and another. After 6 chemos he started running fever. They told us none of the chemos were working and there was nothing left but to take him home and bring in Hospice. I refused to give up as well as him and we ended up going to The Mayo Clinic in Arizona. We thought we finally had some hope and his spirits were up and much better. But he started getting worse cause chemo treatments were delayed due to his blood counts. He and I were there for a month away from family and friends. On Christmas night about 2:00 am Thursday I ended up taking him to the hospital because he was having a hard time breathing and on the following Saturday night he coded because of lack of breathe tumor pressing on his lung and heart. He passed away on Sunday. I feel at the time I didn't want to let him go and wasn't thinking about anything else and he was trying to hang on to his life. If he wouldn't have done the chemo treatments he would have died back a year before he actually did. He had 3 weeks when he was first diagnosed. I don't know if it was the right thing for him to go through all that he did. So I have mixed emotions about all this. We did everything medically possible for him but apparently he had a rare form and nothing would stop it. Daniel is so much younger and living and taking care of my son while he was going through this was tough on me I couldn't even imagine what it was physically, emotionally and mentally like for him. We talked about it a lot but I truly did not totally understand and feel what he was going through.

His parents have raised him and hopefully would know what is best for Daniel and what he does want to do and doesn't. There are so many side effects from chemos that can pop up later in his life. We learned that one kind of chemo can possibly cause a different kind of cancer down the line. Then again maybe not. It is like a chance game with a life. But so could the alternative ways. I am thinking of Daniel and his family and wishing them the best.

My daughter had Hodgkin's at age 12. She underwent chemo and radiation that saved her life. Because of treatment she has enjoyed her teen years just like any other healthy child. Cheerleading and tennis team all through highshcool. Now on her way to college and what I hope to be a full life. Yes, I am worried about after effects of treatment. I will always worry about a recurrence. But I would rather worry about that than be marking the date of her death.

"God helps those who help themselves" and that doesn't mean doing nothing or being ignorant. In addition, no one in their right mind could believe a small child is capable of making their own decision. Sometimes I use alternative medicine but not when is "life and death" situation, especially if one of my children. Risk your own life if want to, but not someone elses.  Remember the Salem "Witch Hunts' when innocent girls & women were burned at the stake.... result of religion carried to the extreme by a few.  As we see with the financial crises, had the gov't been more involved, we wouldn't now be bailing out so many banks.  Balance & common sense is the key to life.

This is what started the decline & fall of the Repuglican Party. In two words,Terry Schiavo! Meddling in peoples private lives! "Big Brother is watching you!" There is a very good herbal remedy for cancer that kills the cancer without killing the good cells! It's name is "Graviola" I should know because I am a cancer survivor who survived WITHOUT chemo. Google it & you can find out all the research about it.

Wonder how many of you have actually gone through this. I lost a wife to cancer. The cancer "industry" has been hocking its version of cure for nearly 40 years. Their solution; cut it out, burn it or poison it, is at best a travesty. There are many alternative aproaches out there that the industry won't consider because there is no money in it. As an example, I treat my own skin cancer. I found the alternative after my first and last treatment where a very pleasant doctor charged $2,800 to essentially fillet the side of my head in her office. It came back but I treated with a natural, topical cream. Get informed and make your own decision and don't presume ignorance simply because it runs counter to conventional or industry wisdom.

Although I think these people are completely nuts, and their son is too young to realize that his "religion" is whacked....I think the parents, are the parents, and at some point we either have to suck it up and let people have freedom of religion-or we don't.

If we are gonna turn a blind eye to poligamy, snake handling, The Amish, and other weird religious "traditions" then we have to let people practice their religion and respect that alot of it just doen't make any sense at all. I don't think God is opposed to Chemotherapy, but clearly these guys do. They think God is pro VITAMIN. Again, I think they are insane, but it is their right.

Why is it that they went to the doctor in the first place? That is kinda what I wanna know. If they heal with vitamins, couldn't they just pick them up at the drug store? Can't you have a bunch of your friends over to have a Prayer-a-Thon" or something?

I just don't get it.

Parents do not own their children. They are custodians of those children until the children are old enough to take care of themselves. Most of the time that works out fine, but when the alternative is certain death, the custodial role must be assumed by the government. When this boy is 80 years old surrounded by his own children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, we can ask if he thinks his parents were right.

The cure to cancel is at the end of your fork. I think the Judge's ruling is criminal.

This is a very complicated issue the points to the fundamental foundation of "Separation of Church and State" which is selectively used by both Religious groups and the U.S. Government. If there really is a complete separation, then all of the arguments for and against abortion, gay marriage, polygamy and refusal of medical treatment would clear cut and there would be no basis for laws derived from religious doctrine. But in our country they are tightly intertwined and selectively used when it comes to the emotional rationalization the strips the rights of some while protecting the rights of others. Either religion should play no role in protecting the rights of an individual or the government must protect the rights of all citizens.

13 year old children do not have the capacity to make a decision of this magnitude. "Alternative treatments" have been evaluated and there is no scientific evidence that they work. Chemotherapy agents have been evaluated by double-blinded, placebo-controlled, clinical trials and have been proven to work. You are very jaded if you think doctors are in it for the money. Trust me, there are easier ways to make much more money than medicine. If the parents' cannot make an informed decision in the best interest of their child, thank God we have some decent, intelligent judges who can.

As a practitioner of holistic medicine for over 17 years, it is sad to think in 2009, parents or patients continue to blindly hand over the responsibility of healing their bodies to physicians without seeking proper education, options of treatments and referrals without being scared into immediate action. The epidemiology of illness is a compilation of variables to include: environmental factors, nutritional, physiological, emotional and familial which cumulate over time. To rush into action often addressing only one aspect of the illness is irresponsible. Americans are positioned for the "quick fix", take a pill and let someone else heal me. The human body is designed to response and reverse any illness when the "Doctor" is defined as a teacher who guides the patient to get in tuned with his or her body, make behavioral changes which allow the body to detox and begin to heal accordingly. To have the Law step in once again to rule against patients rights to choose medical treatment for whatever reasons is wrong. These legislators act out of ignorance and fear. No other country addresses illness in this manner. If you take the necessary time to ask the right questions you can conclude what creates the underlying illness rather than proceeding to treat or mask a symptom with drugs. Chemotherapy can be used alternatively in 10% dosages with doctors trained in proper technique which will target only cancer cells, sparing the immunity and healthy organs and tissues. Many states outlaw Oncologist to "practice" anything outside their license, which includes alternative. So they provide one method of treatment or they will not treat you.

Cancers, tumors and progression of disease speeds up by toxic buildup from foods which feed the disease rather than choke them off. Most diseases can be detected by standing in line at the grocery store looking into other peoples shopping carts. Consumers who speak up to their legislators on this matter will see results. Practitioners who speak up fall on deaf ears. We have wonderful medical facilities in this country using holistic and preventitive methods. Seek those out and learn what is available before it is your family member or yourself found in this position they have placed this family in.

Just like many other areas coming to the surface in our country, medical will be one which we can no longer place our heads in the sand and put a bandaid on. Time to take personal responsibililty for our own outcomes. Janice MPH RD

Whether religious or not in nature, this is the belief system of the parents. We advocate that people need to hold true to their beliefs, but then put them down when they aren't in tune with our own? Expressing they have a right to their beliefs but then putting limits on it in this fashion is a contradiction. It is wrong for the government, as well as others, to try to force their own belief systems onto this family. You aren't them.

I have known people who have had successful chemo treatments, and are to this day cancer free. I have known other people, a few very close to me, who died anyway within a very short time of having the treatments, and watched them suffer miserably. I have also seen the flip-side. I have known those who have successfully battled cancer with alternative treatments, as well as some who have had no success with said treatments. Yes, chemotherapy can save lives; but it doesn't always. And the exact same thing can be said for alternative treatments.

I disagree with the parents' decision in this matter. However, I respect and agree with their right to make it.

I am 35 year Cancer Survivor. I was first diagnosed in 1974 (I was 15 yrs old) w/Osteogenic Sarcoma. I had a year of Chemotherapy & then a reoccurence in the Summer of 1976. Followed by another year 1/2 of Chemptherapy. I can tell you it was definitley NOT a fun time. However, the results speak for themselves. I am still here to tell the tale nearly 35 yrs after the fact.

It's unbelieveable that there are so many people today with barbaric, simple-minded  religious beliefs.  While prayer, meditation and searching for inner peace or enlightenment is a valid and sometimes essential part of being human - medicine and science are also valid and essential human pursuits.  I certainly am not a theologian or scientist, but from just everyday living, it seems to me that God (or whatever "name" you want to use) is the ultimate scientist and the complexity of life is proof of that.  Whatever means we, as humans, have at our disposal is there for a purpose - ideally, to be used to improve life and lessen suffering.  Even though the chemo is painful, if it can save lives, use it!  You don't just pray for food and shelter, you grow food and build shelters! 

In many many cases the treatment kills the child before the cancer. Not to say it doesn't help in many cases either, because it does. I can only wonder how many of the enraged supporters of the ruling have ever gone through cancer treatment. I have. I believe furiously that in THIS case the parents have the right!

These parents were not sitting back and just letting their son die. They were choosing what they felt was the medically best choice for their son's cancer. This is not negligence. When we start allowing for Big Brother to step over his boundaries and make these decisions then we run the risk of other decisions being made for us.

We don't always have to agree or like what another parent does or how they raise thier children, but we do have to be very careful of trying to legislate what we thing is moral/ethically right for others...lest we want the same for ourselves.

It borders on criminal to not get the best care possible to save your child's life. Religious ignorance does not justify sacrificing a young life to mumbo-jumbo beliefs. Hopefully, one day this kid will thank the judge, and so will the parents.

Government needs to stay out of this. We have Gov't telling the world they will protect our privacy/medical information. Then they plaster this family's situation on the world wide web. Where's their responsibility??? Families have a right to evaluate the recommendations of any dr and make their own decision to proceed or not. Meanwhile, we have public schools dispensing birth control to girls without their parents knowledge or consent but this judge says this 13 year old boy can't decide if he wants chemo or not??? Talk about double double double standards. I'm so disappointed in our govt these days. I'll continue to pray that our leadership across this country is finally enlightened and returns this country to common sense and decency.

As if the government is enlightened. Let's trust the government o stimulate the economy. Let's trust the governmen to bail out the banks. Let's trust the government to run Chrysler. Let's trust the government to run social security which goes bankrupt next year because of mismanagment. Now, let's give them a nationalized health care to run. Do you think people will get and have paid for the best treatments?!?!?!? The governmen is trying to outlaw the ability of people to purchase vitamins without a prescription. They prosecute those physicians trying to use alternative approaches. The government has no idea what good, quality care is. Faith and prayer have healed many people who believe in it. Children have the greatest faith. Now, let's work on convincing this kid he's really, really sick, he's really really sick. Oh, boy that's really going to help him. People with the greatest hope and faith have the best chances of cure. Anyone who has not had to make this kind of life and death decision between treatments are not eligible to even dicuss this issue, because you have no idea what these parents or anyone else in this type of situation are going through. When you have a Dr tell you you might die, like I have, and you make the hard choice of pursuing the alternative approachs you firmly believe in and beat the odds with flying colors, then you can enter into the discussion. If I had been under government health care, I would have been forced into a damaging treatment . Keep the government out of health care decisiosn, because theirs is only one of many opinions, and they use the power law to enforce and bully their opinion.

It seems that the Judge knows more than God or parents therefore the Judge must be god or at least have inside information from God. Therefore he must be equal to the POPE or have a ego so large that he can see only that his judgement is better than the rest of mankind. What has become of our country that we should submit to judgements from a fool.