Has anyone heard of the 16 yr. old boy who refuses more Chemo treatment for his Cancer? What do you think?

Question

A judge has ruled that the boy or his parents can't decide. Where are our freedoms going?
I can't believe these judges of today. I remember when I was young the parents always made the decisions for their children. Even when their faith was against blood infusions.

I have heard this on Fox, Today Show, and Good Morning America

I'm talking his parents RIGHTS to make decisions on their child health. Remember the old days.

Answer 1

This is a case of the cure being worse than the disease. He was almost killed by the first round of chemo. Why subject yourself to it again?

My wife had chemo for breast cancer a few years ago. Chemotherapy is basically controlled poisoning that attacks your bodies ability to reproduce cells. There is a long list of life-threatening side effects if can cause, including damage to the kidneys, liver, testes, ovaries, brain, heart, and lungs.

This poor boy is probably more mature and responsible than most 18-20 year olds. Everyone deserves the right to control their destiny.

These judges are using this innocent boy to advance their careers, over-riding the right to liberty. It's despicable.

Answer 2

I think he should have the right to make an informed choice.
I have been thru cancer treatment and it is not fun. there is no certainty that the treatment will help.
I wish it were different but it really should be up to him.
If he were 84 and refusing treatment NOBODY would fuss.
If he were 21 the state would have to let him do as he pleases.
I've been fighting cancer for 5 years now and am in "managed disease" state...but ... you never know....

I heard him in an interview and he seemed to know up from down.
the state should butt out. he will fight this(the courts) till he ages out of the system and he will age out before the appeals are used up.... its not like he were 12 or something.

He is almost a man and he can do research and make decisions about what treatments to take and what not to take.

All of us make those choices all the time.
Are they going to go after all the fat people and make them exercise??
It would be different if the drugs had a better track record but they don't... some of the chemos I took did nothing and a couple made it worse...I am lucky the drug I take now is stopping the growth but eventually that luck will end.
I live till I die. that's all I can do.

Answer 3

It's in VA, and was on the local news. He had completed round 1, which nearly killed him, and wanted to decline round 2 of chemo, and try some homeopathic approaches.

He's 16, which is old enough to emancipate in VA. The courts are WAY out of line, especially since the second round of chemo could very possibly kill him.

This is not a case of a young child with something like a treatable bowel obstruction being kept from life saving treatment. This is the inexact, lethal approaches to cancer, which is an insidious, often non-responsive to treatment disease.

If afflicted, there needs to be respect for the cancer patients right to NOT fight with the vicious (albeit sometimes successful) treatments, if that is what they want.

God bless him and his family.

Answer 4

This isn't a case for a judge to be deciding. This is a clear and present misintepretation of his duties as judge. This decision seems to being based on the fact the patient is a minor, though he is legally of consent to say yes or no to sex. Doesn't make sense. Chemo is an attempt to kill cancer, most chemo treatments are less than fifty percent effective in their respective areas of use. I have tons of material here on chemo drugs, been invited to FDA hearings in D.C. for certain chemo drugs.
I haven't heard of this case yet. But in some chemo useages, its a means to aid in pain treatment to make the patient more comfortable and to prolong life. Not in all though, please don't mistake what I said. Chemo drugs efficacy in some cases is just and works.
I agree to a certain point, and I can't agree with you all the way since I don't know all the facts of this case.

Answer 5

Guess it depends on which state you're in. Or maybe just whether you are over 18 and a legal adult.
My sister-in-law decided that, after three bouts with lukemia, she didn't wish to undergo treatment again when it reappeared. She said that she was tired of being sick and in constant pain...and that it wasn't really living if she couldn't enjoy it.
My brother accepted her decision, as hard as it was. She died 4 months later.
I can understand why she did it. It should be the individuals choice, and if they are underage, the parents should be able to grant their wishes for them. If the courts disagree with that, they are ethically and morally wrong. It could almost be considered abuse to force someone to undergo such a painful and disabilitating treatment, especially if the cancer is aggressive enough that odds are slim of full/permanent remission.

Answer 6

The decision of the judge is for the health of the boy even when he and parents do not want a chemotherapy. His decision is based on his moral conviction that the therapy be conducted as supported by findings of the doctors. He values life on this case.

Answer 7

Is this the same story of the scam that ran on all the news shows a couple of weeks ago?
Some kid was refusing treatments b/c his mother was going out and raising money and the kid didn't really have cancer.

If it isn't, then the parents should have the right how to treat their child. If they are Jehovah's Witnesses, they are against blood transfusions, and a lot of courts are overruling this.

It IS wrong, I agree.

Answer 8

Yes I saw him being interviewed on Court TV he explained his position very well and it is his life he is more mature then his age suggests and knows what works best for him. Plus where the parents not sited for child neglect. This is a family matter and decision and not one for the courts

Answer 9

Let me get this straight!

You want a 16 year old boy to make a decision about his treatment, but you don't want to let an adult woman make her own decision about the termination of a pregnancy!!

I find that odd and an oxymoron!!

Answer 10

He should be allowed to make his own decision regarding his health. He has already tried the chemo and it didn't work. He deserves a few "good" months before he is too sick to enjoy anything.