Arrest ordered for mom of boy, 13, resisting chemo

[Handbag Lady]

Ginger and lemon drops are supposed to help.

(yes, I practice Western or scientific medicine, but I don't have anything against natural or herbal remedies - as long as they at the expense of scientically proven treatments.)

I also know that ginger or ginger ale with bits of real ginger in it and/or real ginger snaps helps with seasickness. I was raised around boats and that's what we would tell the tourists and it worked about 80-90% of the time.

As for these parents, wouldn't NORMAL parents overturn every rock and explore every single remedy known to mankind to cure their child... modern, homeopathic, or even spinning ten times left if it would help?

 

[Scurvy]

IMO, I belive that what the parents are doing is wrong BUT its up to them on how they will treat they're child and it shouldn't have been taken to court.

But someone needs to be looking out for the best interests of the child, and it doesn't seem like the parents are doing that right now. The child shouldn't have to suffer and die if there is a treatment that will more than likely save him.

 

[SkyGirl]

This drives me insane. Chemo SUCKS! It is absolutely horrific but it saves lives. I hated the months and months I was on it and it led to many physical difficulties later (heart valve problems, lung problems), but it saved my life. Without it and radiation, I would be dead. I'm thankful for something so horrible and I wouldn't hesitate a moment to recommend that someone who wasn't sure would have it.

I always said that should I ever get cancer, I would never have chemo or radiation. Funny how what you believe before you get that telephone call informing you that you have cancer and will die without treatment. Suddenly illness, no hair, and all the other side effects and problems mean nothing in comparison to your life.

This child is being murdered by his mother, in my opinion.

 

[imabrat]

This drives me insane. Chemo SUCKS! It is absolutely horrific but it saves lives. I hated the months and months I was on it and it led to many physical difficulties later (heart valve problems, lung problems), but it saved my life. Without it and radiation, I would be dead. I'm thankful for something so horrible and I wouldn't hesitate a moment to recommend that someone who wasn't sure would have it.

I always said that should I ever get cancer, I would never have chemo or radiation. Funny how what you believe before you get that telephone call informing you that you have cancer and will die without treatment. Suddenly illness, no hair, and all the other side effects and problems mean nothing in comparison to your life.

This child is being murdered by his mother, in my opinion.

Amen.
Did you just go inside my head, because I could've written the same thing almost word for word?

 

[princess pooh]

Did you hear the sound of the buzzer? That says that the statement is wrong. (yes I changed the way I said that, I just get so ANGRY at American "culture" and the religion of western medicine...western medicine has gotten control of the laws, the courts, everyone, and it is ridiculous and harmful to MANY people) Almost 10 years ago my husband healed a brain tumor withOUT any western medicine. Hyperbaric chamber treatments, enzymes, a severe macrobiotic diet (no fish b/c the fish we can get in America fish are so polluted). By the first post-diagnosis MRI it was already shrinking. Inside 2 years it was gone. Never a bit of radiation, not a drop of chemo, and it was inoperable.

He had to fight the diagnosing doctors at University of WA Medical Center. He had to hire an attorney to protect him b/c they were threatening him with being committed and treated against his will.

He was making about 20K a year and had to pay for all of his "alternative" treatments out of pocket. No one could "treat" him for the tumor, b/c in WA, at least, it's not legal for anyone but an oncologist to "treat cancer". So it was all considered supportive for his body's immune system, not treating it.

And it's gone, and by the time I met him it had been gone for a couple years.


If you read a bio of Dirk Benedict, you'll find out that he healed testicular cancer in just about the same way.

You don't hear about it b/c the doctors can't talk about it, b/c it's not allowed for people to treat cancer patients (for the cancer) in any OTHER way than the drugs or radiation.

But just b/c you don't hear about doesn't mean it doesn't happen every day.



And if he dies because of the treatment? Or how about despite the treatment?

Or how about because of something else they did along with the treatment?

My mom died b/c of a missed diagnosis of a bleeding ulcer, which was exacerbated b/c of the blood thinners they still had her on, despite being in remission from leukemia. Her doctors stopped billing when my stepdad reminded them of the four BIG symptoms she had in the month before she died, that they laughed at, ignored, and said "huh, that's weird" to. He could have sued them, righteously, for who knows HOW much money for missing that...after all, her chiropractor daughter, within a moment of being told the symptoms, had diagnosed that bleeding ulcer. Shouldn't have been that hard for the MDs, but they missed it, and they slunk away and stopped billing (even insurance), after stepdad reminded him of that.

So, if he dies because of or despite the western medical treatment...you'll be 100% behind the doctors taking full responsibility????????

Wow, what the hell is wrong with you?

 

[Rebelmom67]

Wow, what the hell is wrong with you?

I'm pretty sure you just said what 99% of us are thinking.

 

[Inigo]

Off the top of my head I don't remember. We're so thrilled he's cancer free, that I've wiped most of the details from my brain....

I'll get with my mom and see if I can get the info for you.

Could I get that list too? I'm often nauseated as the result of Crohn's Disease.

 

[minniecarousel]

IMO, I belive that what the parents are doing is wrong BUT its up to them on how they will treat they're child and it shouldn't have been taken to court.

Gotta disagree with ya there. The parents do not have the say in how their child will be treated WHEN the child's life is in danger!

 

[Cool-Beans]

Did you hear the sound of the buzzer? That says that the statement is wrong. (yes I changed the way I said that, I just get so ANGRY at American "culture" and the religion of western medicine...western medicine has gotten control of the laws, the courts, everyone, and it is ridiculous and harmful to MANY people) Almost 10 years ago my husband healed a brain tumor withOUT any western medicine. Hyperbaric chamber treatments, enzymes, a severe macrobiotic diet (no fish b/c the fish we can get in America fish are so polluted). By the first post-diagnosis MRI it was already shrinking. Inside 2 years it was gone. Never a bit of radiation, not a drop of chemo, and it was inoperable.

He had to fight the diagnosing doctors at University of WA Medical Center. He had to hire an attorney to protect him b/c they were threatening him with being committed and treated against his will.

He was making about 20K a year and had to pay for all of his "alternative" treatments out of pocket. No one could "treat" him for the tumor, b/c in WA, at least, it's not legal for anyone but an oncologist to "treat cancer". So it was all considered supportive for his body's immune system, not treating it.

And it's gone, and by the time I met him it had been gone for a couple years.


If you read a bio of Dirk Benedict, you'll find out that he healed testicular cancer in just about the same way.

You don't hear about it b/c the doctors can't talk about it, b/c it's not allowed for people to treat cancer patients (for the cancer) in any OTHER way than the drugs or radiation.

But just b/c you don't hear about doesn't mean it doesn't happen every day.



And if he dies because of the treatment? Or how about despite the treatment?

Or how about because of something else they did along with the treatment?

My mom died b/c of a missed diagnosis of a bleeding ulcer, which was exacerbated b/c of the blood thinners they still had her on, despite being in remission from leukemia. Her doctors stopped billing when my stepdad reminded them of the four BIG symptoms she had in the month before she died, that they laughed at, ignored, and said "huh, that's weird" to. He could have sued them, righteously, for who knows HOW much money for missing that...after all, her chiropractor daughter, within a moment of being told the symptoms, had diagnosed that bleeding ulcer. Shouldn't have been that hard for the MDs, but they missed it, and they slunk away and stopped billing (even insurance), after stepdad reminded him of that.

So, if he dies because of or despite the western medical treatment...you'll be 100% behind the doctors taking full responsibility????????

Well here come my points for 2009...and I was doing so well.

Your husband healed his tumor by changing his sleep habits and diet? ********.

And you will please explain why all of you people who don't like Western Medicine are always going to doctors. If you don't believe in it and don't like it, flipping stop going. Then nobody will screw you up with their Western Medicine and nobody will threaten to treat you against your will, etc.

Change your diet, sleep however you like, hop up and down on your left foot three times in the rain, etc.

Just stop going to doctors. Spare us all this inane "Western Medicine is bad" crap. And stop telling outrageous lies about curing cancer with a change in diet.

As for the OP, the SMART thing to do would be to seek treatment for the child's cancer. But even stupid people should be free to live and die as they please...and to take care of their kids as they please. So, I'd let the kid's mom do what she wanted.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Well here come my points for 2009...and I was doing so well.

Your husband healed his tumor by changing his sleep habits and diet? ********.

And you will please explain why all of you people who don't like Western Medicine are always going to doctors. If you don't believe in it and don't like it, flipping stop going. Then nobody will screw you up with their Western Medicine and nobody will threaten to treat you against your will, etc.

Change your diet, sleep however you like, hop up and down on your left foot three times in the rain, etc.

Just stop going to doctors. Spare us all this inane "Western Medicine is bad" crap. And stop telling outrageous lies about curing cancer with a change in diet.

As for the OP, the SMART thing to do would be to seek treatment for the child's cancer. But even stupid people should be free to live and die as they please...and to take care of their kids as they please. So, I'd let the kid's mom do what she wanted.

See, I wouldn't. You want to bring yourself down? Go ahead. But don't take your child down with you. They tried it, the kid got worse, so it obviously is not working. Now it's time to be a responsible parent and get the kid the treatment.

 

[laurie31]

Well here come my points for 2009...and I was doing so well.

<snip>

As for the OP, the SMART thing to do would be to seek treatment for the child's cancer. But even stupid people should be free to live and die as they please...and to take care of their kids as they please. So, I'd let the kid's mom do what she wanted.

I'm don't mean to argue, I'm playing Devil's Advocate (or something...)

At what point do people feel the state has a responsibility to the child to step in and save his life?

I think we'd all agree that if the child were being physically abused or neglected, the state should protect the child. What if the child needed a blood transfusion and the parents were Jehovah's Witnesses? What if the child had an easily treatable bacterial infection and the parents refused antibiotics? What if he had appendicitis and the parents refused surgery? What about the parents who starve their kids because they believe in some weird diet that isn't nutritionally sound? Where is the line?

I do believe parents should be the ones to choose what's right for their child (For example, I support the rights of parents to refuse immunizations for their children, although I disagree with that choice) but it's hard to know where the line is, at what point does the state step in?

Just food for thought

(and in this case, I do think the state is in the right, to save the child. The odds are so overwhelmingly in favor of a cure with proper treatment.)

 

[honugirl]

Did you hear the sound of the buzzer? That says that the statement is wrong. (yes I changed the way I said that, I just get so ANGRY at American "culture" and the religion of western medicine...western medicine has gotten control of the laws, the courts, everyone, and it is ridiculous and harmful to MANY people) Almost 10 years ago my husband healed a brain tumor withOUT any western medicine. Hyperbaric chamber treatments, enzymes, a severe macrobiotic diet (no fish b/c the fish we can get in America fish are so polluted). By the first post-diagnosis MRI it was already shrinking. Inside 2 years it was gone. Never a bit of radiation, not a drop of chemo, and it was inoperable.

He had to fight the diagnosing doctors at University of WA Medical Center. He had to hire an attorney to protect him b/c they were threatening him with being committed and treated against his will.

He was making about 20K a year and had to pay for all of his "alternative" treatments out of pocket. No one could "treat" him for the tumor, b/c in WA, at least, it's not legal for anyone but an oncologist to "treat cancer". So it was all considered supportive for his body's immune system, not treating it.

And it's gone, and by the time I met him it had been gone for a couple years.


If you read a bio of Dirk Benedict, you'll find out that he healed testicular cancer in just about the same way.

You don't hear about it b/c the doctors can't talk about it, b/c it's not allowed for people to treat cancer patients (for the cancer) in any OTHER way than the drugs or radiation.

But just b/c you don't hear about doesn't mean it doesn't happen every day.



And if he dies because of the treatment? Or how about despite the treatment?

Or how about because of something else they did along with the treatment?

My mom died b/c of a missed diagnosis of a bleeding ulcer, which was exacerbated b/c of the blood thinners they still had her on, despite being in remission from leukemia. Her doctors stopped billing when my stepdad reminded them of the four BIG symptoms she had in the month before she died, that they laughed at, ignored, and said "huh, that's weird" to. He could have sued them, righteously, for who knows HOW much money for missing that...after all, her chiropractor daughter, within a moment of being told the symptoms, had diagnosed that bleeding ulcer. Shouldn't have been that hard for the MDs, but they missed it, and they slunk away and stopped billing (even insurance), after stepdad reminded him of that.

So, if he dies because of or despite the western medical treatment...you'll be 100% behind the doctors taking full responsibility????????

This is fantastic news! I'm going to call my endocrinologist right away and tell him that the leftover parts of my tumor that are as of right now lurking somewhere in my pituitary gland will go away if I just eat right and sleep more. Who knew treating a rare disease was so easy???

Not all "western medicine" doctors ignore alternative treatments. My endo uses several supplements and vitamins to help with symptoms and other problems arising from my disease, but never to treat it. That's just insane.

My view is if this kid can be saved with chemo, give it to him. Don't wait. If I had a chance of being cured with chemo, you darn well better believe I'd be all over it.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

Can someone please explain to me if she is Roman Catholic, how she can claim religious beliefs???? I'm Catholic, and from what I understand how much the Church is pro-life...I can't see how she can claim it's her religion.

 

[MoniqueU]

I am hoping they find the boy and his nutcase mom and that he gets the treatment that will most likely save his life. I also think they ought to go after the clueless wonder that is the dad. I am sure he knows more then what he is saying.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

This is fantastic news! I'm going to call my endocrinologist right away and tell him that the leftover parts of my tumor that are as of right now lurking somewhere in my pituitary gland will go away if I just eat right and sleep more. Who knew treating a rare disease was so easy???

Not all "western medicine" doctors ignore alternative treatments. My endo uses several supplements and vitamins to help with symptoms and other problems arising from my disease, but never to treat it. That's just insane.

My view is if this kid can be saved with chemo, give it to him. Don't wait. If I had a chance of being cured with chemo, you darn well better believe I'd be all over it.

My son's 11yo friend had this same disease. She spent an entire summer going through chemo...lost all her hair....got sick like nothing else. After all that, they found it wasn't working. She was still getting sick with the cancer. The ONLY thing that saved her was her 8yo brother's bone marrow.

I am going to hazard a pretty good guess, that alternative medicine would have done nothing for this girl. If alternative medicines really worked, why is cancer so high on the leading causes of death list?

 

[alexandria674]

I know that holistic medicene works for some illnesses and diseases but this chemo is the best thing for survival for the boy. This cancer is KILLING the boy and he needs HELP, not St.John's Wart, he needs to get to a hospital now!I feel bad for the child and it is time that he gets the proper care needed and this means chemo. I remember my gamma getting breast cancer and the chemo hurt her, but she survived! There is no other way around it, the boy needs help now and if that means throwing the mother in prison to make it possible, so be it.

 

[Aisling]

Can someone please explain to me if she is Roman Catholic, how she can claim religious beliefs???? I'm Catholic, and from what I understand how much the Church is pro-life...I can't see how she can claim it's her religion.

This is what I'm wondering, too. I'm Catholic, have taught religion in Catholic schools for 9 years, and in my experience I've never heard or read aything that says as Catholics it would be against God's will to use chemo or radiation or anything that could possibly save your life. Yes, we pray for miracles, but that's in addition to using the blessing of doctors and medicine.

But this is my problem: what if this woman truly, faithfully believes that she's going against God if she uses modern medicine for her son? There are a few religions like that. Maybe she's not being selfish or irresponsible, but is just sure in her heart that it's against her faith, and that can be a major thing to get over even when her son's life is in danger. Maybe she thinks her "lack of faith" by using meds will send her and her son to hell??

I say find them, grab the kid, treat him, but don't put the mom in jail. This way she can be off the hook with God, because it wasn't her doing.

 

[legalsea]

Updated article from MSNBC: the mother is apparenty taking her son to Mexico. Yeah, good idea.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30824587/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/

 

[DizBelle]

IMO, I belive that what the parents are doing is wrong BUT its up to them on how they will treat they're child and it shouldn't have been taken to court.

I pretty much agree with this. If the government was so interested in protecting the children, why don't they (that is, we) make sure you're a fit parent BEFORE you become one instead of stepping in after the fact when they decide you're not doing a good enough job?

If we (as governed people) are going to insist that the government stay out of our reproductive business and allow us to be able to procreate however, whenever, and however many times we want regardless of the impact on others, then we need to accept that some will parent in ways with which we disagree and let them be - no matter how stupid we think it is.

How many of you would say that she shouldn't have had a child in the first place?

 

[legalsea]

I pretty much agree with this. If the government was so interested in protecting the children, why don't they make sure you're a fit parent BEFORE you become one instead of stepping in after the fact when they decide you're not doing a good enough job?

If we (as governed people) are going to insist that the government stay out of our reproductive business and allow us to be able to procreate however, whenever, and however many times we want regardless of the impact on others, then we need to accept that some will parent in ways with which we disagree and let them be - no matter how stupid we think it is.

How many of you would say that she shouldn't have had a child in the first place?

I guess it all goes back to societies viewpoint that, in general, humans under a certain age (18 in most states) do not have the maturity, intelligence, etc., to make informed decisions on their own behalf (hence they cannot enter into contracts, etc).

So here we have a youth, viewed by society as being unable to make informed choices for himself, faced with a disease that, left untreated, will cause his death.

His mother and father are responsible for making decisions on the boys behalf. The latest article I read states clearly that the father wants the boy returned for the chemothreapy treatment. The mother has made the unilateral decision to treat her son with unconventional means (indeed, if the article is correct, even the 'founder' of the faith-based movement she is a member of is calling for her to return the boy).

Using a 'reasonable person' standard, I believe that most reasonable people would opt to have the youth treated with the convention, proven, chemotherapy, rather than almost certainly letting the boy die. The mother is herself exhibiting irrational behavior.

As for the mother 'not having the child in the first place', that is Monday morning quarterbacking. I imagine that if we could fly back in time and talk to the mother and father before this boy was conceived we may not detect any logical reason to deny them children.

Yes, if the mother had said back then "If I have a son, and he developes a deadly cancer years from now, I will not have him treated with chemotherapy but with herbs", then perhaps an argument could have been made for sterilization. However, that is not how the real world works.

Finally, the 'government' (state governments) used to have laws (back in the 1930s for the most part) that prohibited certain classes of people from procreating: mentally ********, people with certain diseases, etc. Heck, I seem to recall that one state even made it unlawful for people with Bipolar disorder from procreating (or what was called bipolar back then). A slippery slope indeed!