Teen fighting to control his medical treatment
hippiemom
Posts: 3,326
I just learned about this kid yesterday, and it's got me so pissed off I can barely see straight. What country is this that we're living in?
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-07-11-herbal-remedy_x.htm
Virginia teen fights for right to pick Hodgkin's treatment
Updated 7/11/2006 11:33 PM ET
By Martha T. Moore, USA TODAY
Abraham Cherrix, 16, went through chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease that left him so weak that his father carried the 6-foot-1 youth from the car to the house. Doctors tell him he needs a second round of chemo to get rid of the cancer that reappeared in February.
Abraham says no, and his parents are backing him up.
Now the Virginia family is in juvenile court, the parents are charged with medical neglect and the Accomack County social services agency has joint custody of Abraham. The agency asked the court to order the boy to undergo chemotherapy.
A court hearing continued Tuesday. Each side plans to appeal an adverse ruling, family lawyer Barry Taylor says.
Abraham and his family are treating his cancer with an herbal remedy four times a day and an organic diet under the guidance of a clinic in Mexico. The remedy, called the Hoxsey method, has not been clinically tested, and there is no scientific evidence that it is effective, the American Cancer Society says.
Although he is not old enough to cast a vote or buy an alcoholic drink, Abraham argues that he is old enough to make decisions about treatment to save his life.
"This is my body that I'm supposed to take care of. I should have the right to tell someone what I want to do with this body," he says. "I studied. I did research. I came to this conclusion that the chemotherapy was not the route I wanted to take."
Abraham — full name Starchild Abraham Cherrix — lives with his four younger brothers and sisters and parents in Chincoteague, where his dad, Jay, runs a kayaking outfitter and his mom, Rose, home-schools the kids. A lump on Abraham's neck discovered last year turned out to be Hodgkin's disease, which has a high survival rate with treatment — 85% of patients are alive five years later, according to the American Cancer Society.
Chemotherapy and radiation left Abraham bald, racked with fevers and too weak to play tag with his siblings. "His legs would buckle under him. It pretty much devastated him," his mother says.
Another round, at higher doses, "would kill me, literally. No joke about it," Abraham says. "The first round of chemo almost killed me in itself. There were some nights I didn't know if I would make it."
Mary Parker, director of the Accomack County Department of Social Services, declined comment, citing privacy law. So did a spokesman for Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk, Va., where the Cherrix family says Abraham was treated.
In Texas last year, a court ordered 13-year-old Katie Wernecke to live in a foster home for five months while she received chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease. Her parents wanted her to take intravenous vitamin C instead. The court returned Katie to her family after she finished chemotherapy and allowed the alternative treatment. Her website says she is "doing very well ... but she is not cancer-free yet, so there is still a battle to win."
Other families refuse treatment for children for cultural or religious reasons: In 1999, a Massachusetts court ruled that a hospital could give 17-year-old Alexis Demos a blood transfusion after a snowboarding accident even though her Jehovah's Witness faith led her to refuse it.
In deciding whether a child or parents can refuse medical treatment, courts consider the child's age and maturity and the family's reasoning in declining treatment, but also whether the treatment has been shown to work and whether the child has already had the treatment, says Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania.
"The easiest cases to get a court to order treatment is when the children are young and the treatment is absolutely as efficacious as we have," Caplan says. That, he says, includes treatment for Hodgkin's disease, which "has a proven track record."
"The hardest ones are 17-year-olds who've had (the treatment) before, it doesn't work that well, and they sound like they really understand what's going on," he says.
Rose Cherrix says her son is getting medical care, just not the care that his doctors recommend. "We tried their way, and it didn't work," she says. "We truly want to see him get better, and whatever it takes for him to get better we will do. But if he doesn't have a very good chance of coming through this chemo, which he doesn't, I'd much rather him have quality of life."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-07-11-herbal-remedy_x.htm
Virginia teen fights for right to pick Hodgkin's treatment
Updated 7/11/2006 11:33 PM ET
By Martha T. Moore, USA TODAY
Abraham Cherrix, 16, went through chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease that left him so weak that his father carried the 6-foot-1 youth from the car to the house. Doctors tell him he needs a second round of chemo to get rid of the cancer that reappeared in February.
Abraham says no, and his parents are backing him up.
Now the Virginia family is in juvenile court, the parents are charged with medical neglect and the Accomack County social services agency has joint custody of Abraham. The agency asked the court to order the boy to undergo chemotherapy.
A court hearing continued Tuesday. Each side plans to appeal an adverse ruling, family lawyer Barry Taylor says.
Abraham and his family are treating his cancer with an herbal remedy four times a day and an organic diet under the guidance of a clinic in Mexico. The remedy, called the Hoxsey method, has not been clinically tested, and there is no scientific evidence that it is effective, the American Cancer Society says.
Although he is not old enough to cast a vote or buy an alcoholic drink, Abraham argues that he is old enough to make decisions about treatment to save his life.
"This is my body that I'm supposed to take care of. I should have the right to tell someone what I want to do with this body," he says. "I studied. I did research. I came to this conclusion that the chemotherapy was not the route I wanted to take."
Abraham — full name Starchild Abraham Cherrix — lives with his four younger brothers and sisters and parents in Chincoteague, where his dad, Jay, runs a kayaking outfitter and his mom, Rose, home-schools the kids. A lump on Abraham's neck discovered last year turned out to be Hodgkin's disease, which has a high survival rate with treatment — 85% of patients are alive five years later, according to the American Cancer Society.
Chemotherapy and radiation left Abraham bald, racked with fevers and too weak to play tag with his siblings. "His legs would buckle under him. It pretty much devastated him," his mother says.
Another round, at higher doses, "would kill me, literally. No joke about it," Abraham says. "The first round of chemo almost killed me in itself. There were some nights I didn't know if I would make it."
Mary Parker, director of the Accomack County Department of Social Services, declined comment, citing privacy law. So did a spokesman for Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk, Va., where the Cherrix family says Abraham was treated.
In Texas last year, a court ordered 13-year-old Katie Wernecke to live in a foster home for five months while she received chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease. Her parents wanted her to take intravenous vitamin C instead. The court returned Katie to her family after she finished chemotherapy and allowed the alternative treatment. Her website says she is "doing very well ... but she is not cancer-free yet, so there is still a battle to win."
Other families refuse treatment for children for cultural or religious reasons: In 1999, a Massachusetts court ruled that a hospital could give 17-year-old Alexis Demos a blood transfusion after a snowboarding accident even though her Jehovah's Witness faith led her to refuse it.
In deciding whether a child or parents can refuse medical treatment, courts consider the child's age and maturity and the family's reasoning in declining treatment, but also whether the treatment has been shown to work and whether the child has already had the treatment, says Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania.
"The easiest cases to get a court to order treatment is when the children are young and the treatment is absolutely as efficacious as we have," Caplan says. That, he says, includes treatment for Hodgkin's disease, which "has a proven track record."
"The hardest ones are 17-year-olds who've had (the treatment) before, it doesn't work that well, and they sound like they really understand what's going on," he says.
Rose Cherrix says her son is getting medical care, just not the care that his doctors recommend. "We tried their way, and it didn't work," she says. "We truly want to see him get better, and whatever it takes for him to get better we will do. But if he doesn't have a very good chance of coming through this chemo, which he doesn't, I'd much rather him have quality of life."
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." ~ MLK, 1963
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=5011918&nav=23iiJzXy
UPDATE - Teen with cancer left in limbo by judge
A judge in Accomack County has indefinitely postponed a decision in the case of Abraham Cherrix,whose controversial choice for treatment for his recurrent cancer has led to a month's long court fight with social services.
The Judge in the case did not state why he postponed his decision, or even when he might reach one, leaving the Cherrix family in limbo in terms of how they will go about treating Abraham's cancer.
Now, as to my thoughts on this ... I think I can sum it up by saying "what a bunch of fucking bullshit."
I am totally with this kid. He went through one round of chemo and it didn't work. Now they want to zap him again, even harder, and add radiation to the mix. He is choosing exactly what I would choose in that situation. His doctors cannot offer him a guarantee that they can save his life. All that can be guaranteed is that he will be on the brink of death for a time, and he doesn't want to go that route.
I'm appalled that anyone would even consider allowing a social worker and a judge to override medical decisions made by a patient along with his parents. These people are lucid, sane, active, concerned parents, and Abraham appears to be a very mature 16-year old, which is what I'd expect after what he's been through. There is absolutely no reason for the government to be interfering with them in any way. They want to take him away from his family and treat him against his will?! What is WRONG with people?!
As someone who is currently going through chemo, I can say that if someone were forcing me to do this against my will, it would be torture. It's bad enough when I'm doing it on my own. If I were being forcibly dragged off to a clinic and strapped down and pumped full of toxic chemicals, I'd be homicidal. And if the chemo I'm getting doesn't work, my next step will be something similar to what Abraham is doing. I perfectly understand his thinking on this, and I can only hope the courts will leave these poor people alone. God knows they've got enough to worry about as it is, without some bunch of busybodies trying to break up their family and torture their son.
A country that no longer pays any regard to individual will.
"I know I was born and I know that I'll die, the in between is mine."
Abraham's in between is HIS, and the busybodies should leave him alone.
I do know from reading other articles about this case that cancer survivors who were treated at the Mexican clinic have been attending the hearings to support Abraham, and that at least one of them has testified on his behalf, so the treatment DOES work at least some of the time, which is all that can be said for ANY cancer treatment. I think what he's doing is a logical step between giving up completely and pursuing the most agressive treatment. He's trying a treatment that has worked for some people but that won't wreak the sort of havoc on his body that chemo and radiation would. He says he feels better now than he did before he got cancer, so if nothing else, it's improving his quality of life during the time he has left.
And even if it were some quacky bunch of nonsense with a zero success rate, I'm glad that we are in agreement that it is still none of the business of the state of Virginia
exactly.
it's HIS life AND his parents fully support his decision...what else is needed? seriously, one should be able to at least control what form of treatment, if any, they want to pursue. i hope he is allowed to make his own choice...whatever the consequence. it's HIS life at stake.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
A 16 year old is old enough to decide for himself. Shit, even parents should be able to make these decisions for their own child. Like, if he was only 12...parents know what is best for their kid... Unless they are whacko or something, it is none of the government's business.
I would hate the idea of being a parent and having this taken out of my control...much less the 16 year old!!!
It pisses me off!!!
My 16 year old daughter began getting blood clots and they did some agressive treatment, but in doing so they damaged her entire right arm. They did a procedure wrong!!! She lost some ability to use her right hand properly. The clots didn't do this...their treatment did!!! The next clot that came along...I refused that particular treatment...I was told I had no choice. I told them I did.
We had a battle..I won.
The medical profession is not always right. They call it medical "practice" for a reason...its because they "practice".
The last I knew...one has the right to refuse treatment in this country, does that only apply to adults? If a parent is of solid mind, they are their child's voice and caretaker...and they should be able to refuse treatment and opt for another one of their choice for their child.
And 16 is old enough to make decisions about their own life!!!
Jay and Rose Cherrix of Chincoteague on Virginia's Eastern Shore must continue to share custody of their son with the Accomack County Department of Social Services, as the judge had previously ordered, Stepanovich said.
The parents were devastated by the new order and planned to appeal, the lawyer said.
A sad day ... sentenced to chemotherapy against his will. That's torture, plain and simple. I hope his appeal is successful. I'd hate to think that the government can force a person to be injected with toxic chemicals. I wonder if the state plans to pay for his treatment, or do his parents have to foot the bill? And if he dies of complications, will the judge, doctors and social workers be charged?
IMO let the kid do whatever he wants...if he doesnt want the chemo he doesnt want it. If he lives because of it good for him..if he dies than oh well...at least he died by his own hands
2nd) Hippiemom, I'm sorry for your situation. I hope everything turns out well for you. It was 2 years ago this weekend that my mom was diagnosed with Stage for breast cancer that wasn't in her breasts but covered her entire liver. After a year of chemo, she is currently cancer-free.
This is not treatment. If the parents have their way this kid is dead.
It is a curious question as to who foots the bill. I suppose it could be the state, but that opens up an option for people to pose just to give the state the bill. But then how much does this charleton in Mexico charge these desperate people?
If he dies of complications he would have died anyway.
We don't allow well informed sixteen year olds who know the consequences to join the army. We don't let 16 years olds drink, or vote. Nor do we allow them to live with abusive parents, even if they want to.
If the survivor in this example was 16 and you were her caretaker and you refused chemo for her she would be dead.
This isn't an adult who has lived a full life. This is a kid who hasn't yet had a chance to go to college, to fall in love, to get to be cool.
I know it would be a cold day in hell when I'd fund my own torture. I hope they refuse to pay if asked.
Not necessarily true. There was a gentleman at work who was told he had a 90% chance of surviving his cancer, and he died of internal bleeding brought on by the chemotherapy. I'm sure this is not the only time this has happened. I know there's nothing I can tell you that you don't already know about what these chemicals can do to your body ... and you also know that some of those things can kill a person.
And even if he would have died anyway, he'd die after being put through hell, rather than dying after enjoying what remains of his life, as he is now.
I'm sorry, but its not like he was dumped in a garbage can....
but did i read this correctly??
hodgkins patients have 85% survival rate of at least 5 years if they undergo the chemo treatments???
and the 15 minutes of research i just did on the hoxsey method has made me come to this conclusion...
the hoxsey method is a bunch of nonsense......Harry Hoxsey himself died of what??? you guessed it...CANCER....
its a tough call though...seems to me that letting himself and his parents(who named their kid...starchild????) treat it themselves....is just a death penalty....
Till there aint nothing left worth taking away from me.....
that last statement, to me, is the crux of it. while yes, at 16 one does not fit the description of adult and tieh rightsd/responsibilities that go along with it...but i think if nothing else, it is old enough to reason, and to be afforded the right to decide for one's self....just what sort of quality of life one wants to have, even short-lived.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
I know that in this country we can refuse treatment...I guess that is only if you are of age. To me that is when parents make the decision.
The state better be prepared to foot the bill...and that judge should have to take care of that kid when he is sick from the chemo he has ordered him to go thru.
How frightening it is to know that the courts can just take away a parents choice about medical care. There are many cancer patients who opt to not go thru chemo. There is a reason they choose not to...this kid don't have that choice.
Ah..the freedoms of the ameican life....BS!!!
That's probably why they rebel.
Laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) surgery uses an intensely hot, precisely focused beam of light to remove or vaporize tissue and control bleeding in a wide variety of non-invasive and minimally invasive procedures
Side-effects of Chemotherapy from Wikipedia
Same thing AZT and other AIDS treatments cause, the exact thing that AIDS is Aquired Immunodepression Syndrome. If you want to get aids just start taking perscription drugs. So you can be on chemotherapy fighting cancer and get something like pneumonia because your immune system if fucked. Doesn't sound like a good treatment to me and I'd probably try alternatives.
Virginia Boy Wants to Pursue Alternative Cancer Treatment
Associated Press
ACCOMAC, Va., July 25, 2006 — An Eastern Shore teenager with cancer does not have to report to a Norfolk hospital today for treatment.
That's the ruling this afternoon by an Accomack County Circuit Court judge, after a lawyer for 16-year-old Starchild Abraham Cherrix appealed an earlier ruling by a juvenile court judge.
Judge Glen Tyler said Abraham and his parents will get a new trial in Circuit Court as soon as possible. A trial date was to be set.
The judge also returned full custody of Abraham to his parents.
That ruling suspends an order by the juvenile court judge that required Abraham's parents to share custody with the county's Department of Social Services.
Abraham's attorney, John Stepanovich said the teenager's appeal is moot if he is forced to undergo treatment.
Carl Bundick, an attorney for the social services department, told the judge the department would not object to suspending the juvenile judge's order — provided that a new trial takes place quickly.
The state stepped into the case when Abraham refused to undergo more chemotherapy when his Hodgkin's disease became active again earlier this year. He wants to continue pursuing alternative treatments.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
I've seem similar evidence on late night infommercials. These testimonials should be investigated, or at least accomponied by expert medical testimony before being allowed to peddle their elixir like traveling medicine show.
The American Cancer Society has a committee that evaluates dubious cancer treatment methods. Here's some information on the Hoxsey method:
http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/PPI/UnconventionalTherapies/HoxseysHerbalTonicHoxseyHerbalTreatment.htm
Universal health care will solve this irritating effect.
There are no guarantees in medicine. But there is no single patient factor that corrolates better with successful outcome than young age.
Much of medicine is a numbers game. If the standard of care treatment has a 99% success rate, and this hoxsey method has minimal success rate than it seems a moral imperative to stop this child from being killed. If the standard of care treatment has a 5% success rate and the hoxsey method has a 3% success rate then it may be better to let the parents decide. The doctors caring for this patient have information as to the rate of success of their methods and this isn't mentioned in the articles, but is crucial to this discussion. Hodgkin's treatments have reasonable success rates but depend on many factors unique to the individual presentation of course.