11 year old girl who discontinued chemotherapy for alternative medicine dies

[Fighting Banana Slug]

Originally Posted by Stay Golden

A caring parent will try anything to ease their child's pain and suffering battling a terminal disease. I certainly do not blame the parents for their decision such a tragic situation to be faced with.
Really sad.

Really? Blame isn't the right word, as it is a terrible disease they can't control, but I think they failed miserably in their responsibilities as parents. Did anyone actually think when this story broke that the Florida "clinic" would do anything to prevent that child from dying?

[OldDutch]

Steve Jobs would probably be here today had he not done the alternative medicine route for so long. If it didn't work for a man with access to the best of the best alternative medicine, why do these people think it will work for them?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolog...r-so-long.html

[Zarley]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

I disagree, when it comes to minors. Minors/children/adult dependants often lack the mental ability to make decisions or to understand the possible outcome of the decisions they make.

Adults can do whatever the hell they want.

Many minors don't have good/proper parents. This story is a great example. If parents are making bad decisions for their child then I believe the state should step into protect the child. Obviously, it would be situations of an extreme nature.

If parents can't/won't protect their children then someone needs to.

Exactly. Kids shouldn't have to pay the price for their parents being morons.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by OldDutch

Steve Jobs would probably be here today had he not done the alternative medicine route for so long. If it didn't work for a man with access to the best of the best alternative medicine, why do these people think it will work for them?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolog...r-so-long.html

Highly unlikely. Pancreatic cancer apparently has a 6% survival rate 5 years after diagnosis and treatment. Steve was diagnosed in 2004 and died in 2011. He did pretty well considering the cancer has pretty bad odds.

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by Stay Golden

A caring parent will try anything to ease their child's pain and suffering battling a terminal disease. I certainly do not blame the parents for their decision, in such a tragic desperate situation to be faced with.
Really sad.

That's fine except she did not have a terminal disease.

She had a treatable disease and was given a 75% chance of survival. I'm a caring parent and if my kids were ever given them odds by medical experts to continue living regardless of pain and suffering they're taking them. Those are very good odds.

[Stay Golden]

Originally Posted by Fighting Banana Slug

Really? Blame isn't the right word, as it is a terrible disease they can't control, but I think they failed miserably in their responsibilities as parents. Did anyone actually think when this story broke that the Florida "clinic" would do anything to prevent that child from dying?

your being petty. It is a horrible situation that lead these parents out of an extreme sense of desperation and hopelessness decided what they thought would save their daughter.
What is so vile is that there are individuals that are so evil they would rather profit with fraudulent Holistic BS, knowingly full well they are taking full advantage of vulnerable people in a time of suffering.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Stay Golden

your being petty. It is a horrible situation that lead these parents out of an extreme sense of desperation and hopelessness decided what they thought would save their daughter.

At as posted above it was has high success rate (as cancer goes).

He isn't being petty.

What is so vile is that there are individuals that are so evil they would rather profit with fraudulent Holistic BS, knowingly full well they are taking full advantage of vulnerable people in a time of suffering.

I agree

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

Highly unlikely. Pancreatic cancer apparently has a 6% survival rate 5 years after diagnosis and treatment. Steve was diagnosed in 2004 and died in 2011. He did pretty well considering the cancer has pretty bad odds.

Jobs had a less common type of pancreatic cancer with a much higher rate of survival.

[Ozy_Flame]

Found this on WebMD doing a cursory search:

"Holistic medicine is also based on the belief that unconditional love and support is the most powerful healer."

Good lord. Please balance that with Westernized professional treatment and proven medicine. Isn't unconditional love and support what you get from your family anyways when your sick, making holistic healing implicit?

[Fighting Banana Slug]

Originally Posted by Stay Golden

your being petty. It is a horrible situation that lead these parents out of an extreme sense of desperation and hopelessness decided what they thought would save their daughter.
What is so vile is that there are individuals that are so evil they would rather profit with fraudulent Holistic BS, knowingly full well they are taking full advantage of vulnerable people in a time of suffering.

I agree with your last sentence, not so much on the first. Pettyness has nothing to do with this. I am a parent of a young child, and if I made these types of decisions, I would fully expect to be held accountable for those decisions.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by Ducay

Sad result, but even the Children's Aid society said taking the girl into custody to force her into the Chemo would be way worse on her than leaving her with her parents to try the alt. medicine.

Bunch of bolloxs, she's dead, how is that better than likely being alive and pissed at Children's Aid?

[polak]

Yeah I 100% disagree with any notion that the parents should shoulder anything less then FULL and ABSOLUTE blame for this. The kid has a treatable disease, which modern medicine is able to cure 75% of the time and the parents decided instead to go another, unproven direction. Now their child is dead.

I can't think of any way a person could fail worse as a parent. Horrible, Horrible human beings these parents are. I hope this is a cautionary tale for any other morons that want to go the "holistic" or "homeopathic" route for serious illnesses.

Sure, I'd understand trying anything under the sun if the chemo didn't work, but not the other way around. Argh this story is so frustrating. A child just died due to their parents utter stupidity.

[speede5]

Is the common opinion that it is ok to force someone to complete a chemo regime despite their own feelings on the matter?

I don't subscribe to holistic medicine, but lot's of cancer patients choose not to do chemo.

I can't imagine how hard it would be to watch your child suffer with this, and then torture them on top of that. 11 yrs old or 41 yrs old a person should have some say in their treatment. I don't think there's a right answer.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by speede5

Is the common opinion that it is ok to force someone to complete a chemo regime despite their own feelings on the matter?

I don't subscribe to holistic medicine, but lot's of cancer patients choose not to do chemo.

I can't imagine how hard it would be to watch your child suffer with this, and then torture them on top of that. 11 yrs old or 41 yrs old a person should have some say in their treatment. I don't think there's a right answer.

We don't let children make these decisions as they don't have the ability too judge, same reason we don't let them drink.
The poor kid went along with the irrational garbage some snake oil salesman sold the adults on the band, no doubt she went to her death believing that western medicine was evil. Complete waste of life.
It also clearly shows how crappy the Ontario children's aid model is, they got bullied by the bands threats of law suits.

[automaton 3]

Originally Posted by speede5

Is the common opinion that it is ok to force someone to complete a chemo regime despite their own feelings on the matter?

I don't subscribe to holistic medicine, but lot's of cancer patients choose not to do chemo.

I can't imagine how hard it would be to watch your child suffer with this, and then torture them on top of that. 11 yrs old or 41 yrs old a person should have some say in their treatment. I don't think there's a right answer.

For adults, you bet. Fill your boots (or not).

For children I wholeheartedly disagree.

These parents allowed their daughter to both suffer and die from an illness that is highly treatable.

[polak]

Originally Posted by speede5

Is the common opinion that it is ok to force someone to complete a chemo regime despite their own feelings on the matter?

I don't subscribe to holistic medicine, but lot's of cancer patients choose not to do chemo.

I can't imagine how hard it would be to watch your child suffer with this, and then torture them on top of that. 11 yrs old or 41 yrs old a person should have some say in their treatment. I don't think there's a right answer.

So basically, you're saying it's okay for parents to essentially send their children to their deaths because they can't bare to see them suffer through Chemo...

It's one thing to reject treatment when you are 50 and lived a decently full life. Here, the PARENTS decided for their child that a death sentence was a better choice for their 11 year old then treating a CUREABLE disease. This wasn't terminal. She had a 75% chance of survival and they said "nah"...

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by polak

So basically, you're saying it's okay for parents to essentially send their children to their deaths because they can't bare to see them suffer through Chemo...

As a society we should just be a flock of sheep and allow the government to decide how our lives and households should be run.

[polak]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

As a society we should just be a flock of sheep and allow the government to decide how our lives and households should be run.

When it comes to the well being of children who can't decide for themselves, we should go with the consensus.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by polak

When it comes to the well being of children who can't decide for themselves, we should go with the consensus.

If a child's parents are capable of making sound and logical decisions they should have the right to not acceptable treatment.

[polak]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

If a child's parents are capable of making sound and logical decisions they should have the right to not acceptable treatment.

I'm sorry but I have to disagree completely.

On the individual level, humans have shown that they are completely capable of having complete disregard for their childrens well being, even if they are competent. Society as whole, on the other hand, doesn't have this issue.