Teen loses fight to use alternative cancer treatment
NORFOLK, Virginia (AP) -- A judge ruled Friday that a 16-year-old boy fighting to use alternative treatment for his cancer must report to a hospital by Tuesday and accept treatment that doctors deem necessary, the family's attorney said.
The judge also found that Starchild Abraham Cherrix's parents were neglectful for allowing him to pursue alternative treatment of a sugar-free, organic diet and herbal supplements supervised by a clinic in Mexico, lawyer John Stepanovich said.
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.
Stepanovich said he will ask a higher court on Monday to stay enforcement of the order, which requires the parents to take Abraham to Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia, and to give the oncologist their written legal consent to treat their son for Hodgkin's disease.
"I want to caution all parents of Virginia: Look out, because Social Services may be pounding on your door next when they disagree with the decision you've made about the health care of your child," Stepanovich said.
Phone calls to the Cherrix home went unanswered.
The lawyer declined to release the ruling, saying juvenile court Judge Jesse E. Demps has sealed much of the case.
Social Services officials have declined to comment, citing privacy laws.
After three months of chemotherapy last year made him nauseated and weak, Abraham rejected doctors' recommendations to go through a second round when he learned early this year that his Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymph nodes, was active again.
A social worker then asked a judge to require the teen to continue conventional treatment. In May, the judge issued a temporary order finding Abraham's parents neglectful and awarding partial custody to the county, with Abraham continuing to live at home with his four siblings.
_________________ I remember doing nothing on the night Sinatra died
And the night Jeff Buckley died
And the night Kurt Cobain died
And the night John Lennon died
I remember I stayed up to watch the news with everyone
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 1:14 am Posts: 37778 Location: OmaGOD!!! Gender: Male
Wow. And here I thought that even if a 16 year-old doesn't have a right to determine the course of his own medical treatment, that his PARENTS do without being found "neglectful" by a court. Look out, Christian Scientists.
BTW, the neglect may have started when the parents named the kid "Starchild Abraham Cherrix".
_________________ Unfortunately, at the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius, the Flower Children jerked off and went back to sleep.
it is my understanding that a competent holistic doctor works in conjunction with western medicine. any holistic doc that tells a patient to stop being treated by their western doc is doing his patient a grave disservice.
the effects of chemo are awful, and i could see how a kid would not want to go though it all again, but there has to be a way for the holisitc and traditional to meet in the middle to help this kid without a fucking court order.
and for god's sake, MEXICO? i'd go get some voodoo done before i'd get medical care from mexico.
_________________ cirlces they grow and they swallow people whole half their lives they say goodnight to wives they'll never know got a mind full of questions and a teacher in my soul and so it goes
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 2:47 pm Posts: 13660 Location: Long Island Gender: Male
punkdavid wrote:
Wow. And here I thought that even if a 16 year-old doesn't have a right to determine the course of his own medical treatment, that his PARENTS do without being found "neglectful" by a court. Look out, Christian Scientists.
BTW, the neglect may have started when the parents named the kid "Starchild Abraham Cherrix".
Haha! Starchild? I'm naming my kid Jesus Christ Superstar
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 8:48 am Posts: 1578 Location: Mass.
Clubber wrote:
punkdavid wrote:
Wow. And here I thought that even if a 16 year-old doesn't have a right to determine the course of his own medical treatment, that his PARENTS do without being found "neglectful" by a court. Look out, Christian Scientists.
BTW, the neglect may have started when the parents named the kid "Starchild Abraham Cherrix".
Haha! Starchild? I'm naming my kid Jesus Christ Superstar
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:30 pm Posts: 7110 Location: the Zoo.
My best friend's parents were going to name him Ziggy Stardust. They changed their mind just before he was born, I guess they just didn't do quite enough blow.
They should have. It would have fit the personality he later developed. He can only dream of being as cool as Bowie, though.
Teen loses fight to use alternative cancer treatment
Friday, July 21, 2006; Posted: 7:53 p.m. EDT (23:53 GMT)
NORFOLK, Virginia (AP) -- A judge ruled Friday that a 16-year-old boy fighting to use alternative treatment for his cancer must report to a hospital by Tuesday and accept treatment that doctors deem necessary, the family's attorney said.
The judge also found that Starchild Abraham Cherrix's parents were neglectful for allowing him to pursue alternative treatment of a sugar-free, organic diet and herbal supplements supervised by a clinic in Mexico, lawyer John Stepanovich said.
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.
Stepanovich said he will ask a higher court on Monday to stay enforcement of the order, which requires the parents to take Abraham to Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia, and to give the oncologist their written legal consent to treat their son for Hodgkin's disease.
"I want to caution all parents of Virginia: Look out, because Social Services may be pounding on your door next when they disagree with the decision you've made about the health care of your child," Stepanovich said.
Phone calls to the Cherrix home went unanswered.
The lawyer declined to release the ruling, saying juvenile court Judge Jesse E. Demps has sealed much of the case.
Social Services officials have declined to comment, citing privacy laws.
After three months of chemotherapy last year made him nauseated and weak, Abraham rejected doctors' recommendations to go through a second round when he learned early this year that his Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymph nodes, was active again.
A social worker then asked a judge to require the teen to continue conventional treatment. In May, the judge issued a temporary order finding Abraham's parents neglectful and awarding partial custody to the county, with Abraham continuing to live at home with his four siblings.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 7:19 pm Posts: 39068 Location: Chapel Hill, NC, USA Gender: Male
pjam81373 wrote:
Buggy wrote:
Wait...since when did the government force medical treatment?
7/21/06.
*1954
_________________ "Though some may think there should be a separation between art/music and politics, it should be reinforced that art can be a form of nonviolent protest." - e.v.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 7:19 pm Posts: 39068 Location: Chapel Hill, NC, USA Gender: Male
simple schoolboy wrote:
B, you just love you your CDC, doncha? =P
I got friends there.
_________________ "Though some may think there should be a separation between art/music and politics, it should be reinforced that art can be a form of nonviolent protest." - e.v.
Teen wins court battle to stop chemo 'It's everything we fought for, ' boy, 16, says of settlement
Wednesday, August 16, 2006; Posted: 11:26 a.m. EDT (15:26 GMT)
ACCOMAC, Virginia (AP) -- A 16-year-old cancer patient's legal fight ended in victory Wednesday when his family's attorneys and social services officials reached an agreement that would allow him to forgo chemotherapy.
At the start of what was scheduled to be a two-day hearing, Circuit Judge Glen A. Tyler announced that both sides had reached a consent decree, which Tyler approved.
Under the decree, Starchild Abraham Cherrix, who is battling Hodgkin's disease, will be treated by an oncologist of his choice who is board-certified in radiation therapy and interested in alternative treatments.
The family must provide the court updates on Abraham's treatment and condition every three months until he's cured or turns 18.
"It's all over. It's everything we fought for, everything we wanted to ever have, we've won. We got our freedom back," Abraham said outside the courthouse after the hearing.
Tyler emphasized that the decree states that the parents weren't medically neglectful.
Abraham said that he saw the doctor last week, and the doctor assured him that his cancer is curable. The teen said he'll continue following an alternative herbal treatment called the Hoxsey method as well as his doctor's treatment plan. The regimen won't include chemotherapy, but radiation is a possibility, he said.
After the short hearing, the judge looked at Abraham and said, "God bless you, Mr. Cherrix."
Last summer, the teen was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymphatic system considered very treatable in its early stages. He was so debilitated by three months of chemotherapy that he declined a second, more intensive round that doctors recommended early this year.
He since has been using the Hoxsey method, the sale of which was banned in the United States in 1960.
After Abraham chose to go on the sugar-free, organic diet and take liquid herbal supplements under the supervision of a Mexican clinic, a social worker asked a juvenile court judge to intervene to protect the teen's health. Last month, the judge found Abraham's parents neglectful and ordered Abraham to report to a hospital for treatment as doctors deem necessary.
Lawyers for the family appealed, and an Accomack County Circuit Court judge suspended that order and scheduled a new trial to settle the dispute. The judge scheduled the trial for two days but has indicated he would like to finish in one, said John Stepanovich, a lawyer for the parents.
Abraham is still on the Hoxsey method, but Stepanovich stressed that the family hasn't ruled out other possible treatments, such as immunotherapy or radiation treatment in small doses.
According to the American Cancer Society, there is no scientific evidence that Hoxsey is effective in treating cancer in people. The herbal treatment is illegal in the United States but can be obtained through clinics in Mexico, and some U.S. naturopathic practitioners use adapted versions of the formula.
_________________ Unfortunately, at the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius, the Flower Children jerked off and went back to sleep.
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I got friends there.
