That makes me very sad to read such a thing. I have a daughter that was born with a cataract in one eye. Not life threatening by any means, but certainly life changing. Her treatment meant putting a contact lens into the eye of an infant/toddler for 2 1/2 years. She was required to wear an eyepatch at least a portion of everyday for 7 years. This was extremely trying. It got to the point where I literally had to sit on her at the age of two and listen to her scream bloody murder each and everytime I had to put in or take out her contact lens. I could have given up. Said it was too hard, too taxing, too stressful. I mean, in the scope of things what would it mean in the end if I quit…she would only be blind in one eye! But I am her mother, and it is my job to make sure that she is given every advantage, every treatment, every hope in life. To have a child with a life threatening illness, AND with a high cure rate, to simply decide it was too much of a hassle to give her son the needed care just makes my skin crawl. I wouldn’t be surprised that this child suffered from some sort of neglect prior to the diagnosis as well. So very, very sad!

Dr Manny

It is your opionion that chemo would have healed him. It is a parents choice to determine if they will follow the chemo practice which is highly destructive and painful. Cancer success rates of people who chose chemo are not significant. I have watched and heard of at least 10 people in the last year who started chemo and within months died anyways. Only 1 survived. Not very good stats to me.

Personally our family has decided we would holistically juice fast and use organic foods and herbs to renew the body.

Doubtful that many of these people with cancer followed good eating practices to begin with.

The autistic boy was probably all medicated up on an already weak immune system. A good diet of natural foods- raw would have done more help that the meds.

It is only your opinion and until you begin to treat patients by having them do a 40 day jucie fast and retest them at the end to how they responded you have no baseline to determine if it would be a better choice for them rather than just casting them to the chemo treatments.

Jeanne, where did you get your medical degree?

To Jeanne: It’s YOUR opinion that a holistic diet would help. It’s MEDICAL FACT that chemo has a 92% cure rate for non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Not Dr. Manny’s opinion, FACT. And I don’t see what a healthy diet has to do with a child getting cancer, or anyone else for that matter. READ before you make your opinions please. It’s all in the article, it’s not some made up fantasy that Dr. Manny pulled from above.

As for the cancer center not following up, I have to agree, but I don’t know the facts here. Maybe they did check up and mom had an excuse, or maybe they couldn’t reach the family and before a welfare check could be done, it was too late. This mother should be charged with child abuse for withholding treatment, and if any other children are in her care, I hope social services does a VERY intensive check on her home. Such a horrible death for this poor little boy that was completely preventable. I hope he rests in peace and I hope his “mother” has to deal with her decision for the rest of her life!!

Okay, Jeanne, did you even READ the article. It’s not Dr. Manny’s opinion that chemo would have saved this kid. It was the child’s doctors that said he had a 92% chance of survival if he had received the treatment they had set out for him. And your stats of HEARING about 10 patients receiving chemo and only 1 surviving is absolutely meaningless compared to the hundreds that have their lives lengthened and restored by chemotherapy.

You are a serious organically grown fruitcake to think that just a fruit juice diet is going to cure every illness that someone might encounter. What juice do you recommend for ebola? Seriously, have a grease burger and come back from the Uranus.

Jeanne, your about as stupid as a human being could possibly be!!!!!!!

The birth mother of this poor child should be indicted and prosecuted for manslaughter, at the very least. Any other children she has should be placed under the custody of child protective services. She does not deserve the title of mother.

The birth mother of this poor child should be indicted and prosecuted for manslaughter, at the very least. Any other children she has should be placed under the custody of child protective services. She does not deserve the title of mother.

It was definitely the parent’s choice not to treat the child. There might be more going on than just the cancer.

Jeanne – you’re an idiot.

Jeanne – you’re an id.iot.

Don’t be so quick to judge this mother, or to dare imply the child would be cured if he had completed his chemo rounds.

I lost my son to Non-Hodgkins lymphoma (Burkitts) and he never missed an appointment, nor any of his at home medications. Yet, the disease that went quickly into remission, resurfaced 4 months into treatment. In 3 more months my child was dead.

And, it is time to stop spreading these false cure rates, as well. Why is it that the doctors are now failing to list the cancer as the cause of death? My son’s death certificate lists Non Hodgkins lymphoma as the 4th cause of death! While I spent so many months on a pediatric oncology floor, I became close with many families; most of the kids were lost. Yet, not one of their death certificates lists the cancer as the cause of death; always something else-pneumonia, sepsis, cardiopulmonary failure,etc…

It is very unfair to state that this child would be alive if chemo was on schedule, because you really don’t know that at all. And, after watching the horrors of these treatments, I’m not sure I blame that mother at all.

jeanne you are total insensitive
and the boys mother should be in prison…

I agree with Jeanne at a fundamental level, that parents should be free to choose a child’s medical treatment. When someone dies from chemotherapy, it always attributed to a death from the underlying cancer. Chemo is dangerous at best. Surviving chemo is a bigger accomplishment than surviving cancer in my opinion. It’s a similar bias that exists against home birth. If a baby dies that was born at home, everyone says it’s because the baby was born at home, but when a baby dies or is still born at a hospital, the death was inevitable. I’m not prepared to make judgments about what this mother did or did not do for her son, because the ONLY thing we know from Dr. Manny’s story is that she did not follow the advice of the doctors. It’s wrong to jump to conclusions and make assumptions about her parenting skills or to suggest that she was an abusive parent.

To Jeanee:

Are you trying to tell me a parent has a right to kill their child through witholding lifesaving drugs? Seriously? Cure cancer by eating better? That’s not it works…thanks for playing, though.

Jeanne, you are a nut. Do you really think that your minute experience with cancer constitutes data?? The plural of anecdote is anecdotes, not data. What on earth gave you the idea that a 40 day juice fast was in any way healthy? The fact that you are using this tragic incident to promote your foolish beliefs in pseudo-medicine and to condemn cancer victims as having not followed “good eating practices to begin with” is deplorable. I supposed since you want a scientific test on your 40 day juice fast we should also test drinking large amounts of pool water to see if that cures cancer too. They seem equally likely to attain success. Listen to a few podcasts on skeptoid.com and spare the world of your unfounded beliefs.

Jeanne, I am glad you are not responsible for my health or any member of my family’s health. My mother is alive today with ongoing treatment for lung cancer and we cherish every minute with her. Yes the chemo is hard at times but she has made the choice to live and to continue treatment. I also have a good friend who was treated for Non Hodgkins Lymphoma over 15 years ago. I wonder if we should ask her if the treatment was worth it. Wise up. I am an advocate of health eating and lifestyle and integrated medicine but I think there is a time and a place for both science, traditional medicines and alternative measures in our life.

Jeanne, seriously? A 40 day juice fast? For a adult that can make that decision, maybe, if you don’t mind discarding common sense. For a child, with completely different nutritional needs, it is and avoidable hazard. I guess we are lucky you did not go into colon cleaning, or chelating, or leeches, or blood-letting, or excorisim.

Jeanne, your comment proves you’re an idiot. First of all, it is not Dr. Manny’s OPINION that chemo would have cured him… the cure rates prove that him surviving his disease was highly favorable. Secondly, CHILDREN who are diagnosed with cancer have done nothing in terms of lifestyle to acquire any type of cancer. NHL is a highly curable form and you need to do your research before you make such stupid statements. Where in the world did you get your info about “cancer success rates of people who chose chemo”?? Raw foods and juice fasts are not part of any treatment protocol that I’m aware of (oh yes, did I mention I’m a pediatric oncology nurse?)

Dr. Manny and Janell, I agree with you both wholeheartedly. First and foremost, it is parents’ responsibility to care for, protect and provide the means to proper treatment for life-threatening illnesses for their children. That mother was downright neglectful. And the facility should have jumped on it immediately when she cancelled treatments. I don’t know what the child protective agency is in their state, but DSS, DCF or DYS – whatever – should have been involved. And the hospital’s ethics commitee should also have been all over it. What? Because he had autism, he didn’t deserve proper treatment? It is utterly disgusting that this occured in this day and age in this country.

I suggest that the District Attorney look into criminal charges against the mother. Certainly negligence is involved, but I suspect the mother might have been hoping the child would die.

I have a son that has PDD-NOS and I would never withhold any medications or not take him to appointments that is just plain cruel, I know it is hard to see your child suffer but that would make it even more terrible..

I suspect that the District Attorney should look into criminal charges. Perhaps it was criminal negligence. However, I cannot help but be suspicious that the mother intended for the child to die.

As the parent of a special-needs child, this is certainly a scenario I have hoped I never have to face. After everything my child has already gone through in her life, I honestly don’t know whether I would choose to treat cancer or not. She will never be an independent, self-reliant, fully contributing member of society. I will have to fight to ensure she receives a basic level of support throughout her entire life. What is to be gained by putting her through the extreme trauma of chemotherapy? What’s the point of wasting so many more scarce healthcare resources on a case like hers? I don’t think it’s good policy to treat everyone for everything regardless of quality of life or actual costs involved.

Given the huge numbers of x-rays my child has received, I definitely worry about the possibility that she will develop cancer at some point. While I am very proactive in screening for and following up on anything that might improve her quality of life, if it came down to a truly traumatic illness, I can’t be sure that I would choose to treat. And it should be my right, as her parent and her protector and the only one who truly has her best interests at heart to make that decision.

Did Dr. Manny bother to find out if the family could afford the chemo and dr appointments? These meds can run to hundreds of dollars a month. My step brother had leukemia, and the meds were simply unaffordable. My step father had to quit his job to qualify for medicaid just so he could get the chemo and pay for his hospital visits. Maybe Dr. Manny should investigate ALL the reasons before giving his opinion.

Jeanne,

I am a proudly a health fiend, too, denying most medications for my condition and trying to heal myself from the inside out (it’s not cancer). I do believe that diet plays a huge part in cancer and autism both, but frankly your post is utterly preposterous. The lifestyle you speak of is great for prevention, but we are talking about a child here. Being so young, he would need the aggressive cancer treatment. His body isn’t strong enough yet to heal himself through your methods.

It is responsible and wise to preach for organics and holistic therapies, but in extreme conditions we must exercise common sense. All medicine is not bad. There are still things medicine can do that veggies can’t.

I think this is sick. I don’t know what the mothers excuss is although I wish I knew. I mean if she needed help I am sure that she could have gotten it. But I also agree that some of the Medical people should have check up on this child.

I am deeply upset by Jeanne’s comment”doubtul that many of these people with cancer followed good eating practices to begin with”. I grew up on organic, low fat, high fiber, whole grains, fruits and vegetables and organic meats with in moderation. I continued that diet through my entire life and excercise daily. I have completed 3 marathons, breast fed my children and still at the young age of 33 – breast cancer. I fought hard and fierce with surgeries and chemo. I am still suffering from the long term and permanent affects of treatment. I would think twice about forcing any child to endure such a horrible treatment. Just because treatment is available does not mean it is mandatory. Until you EXPERIENCE something as difficult as cancer and it’s treatment Please hold back your criticism and thoughtless comments.

Jeanne you obviously are very self righteous and know nothing about this type of lymphoms

It’s so sad to read something like this, and the immediate response is to want to blame someone, which is understandable, but come on — blaming the health care center??? How many patients does the center see in a week? And how many of those would need follow-up? How do we determine which patients we follow up on? And how much time is spent? Are you kidding?? Health care costs are already through the roof, and you want to add more responsibility to the doctors? And if we’re going to give them the added responsibility, do we also give them the right to determine who warrants treatment and who doesn’t? No. The plain and simple truth is that it was the parent(s) that did this. Whether they did this because they are truly awful people and simply couldn’t be bothered to treat their child, or whether they made a conscious decision based on their beliefs and other concerns, as the previous posts indicates, we can’t tell from the article, but regardless, that is where the buck should stop.

I beg your pardon,Jeanne. As a 12 year survivor of cancer, I take offense at your intimation that the cancer was somehow MY fault due to poor diet.

Hundreds of thousands of lives have been saved by chemotherapy. I don’t think a glass of OJ is gonna be much help.

(The autistic boy was probably all medicated up on an already weak immune system. A good diet of natural foods- raw would have done more help that the meds.)……….and you know this how?

And what about the untold thousands that doctors kill with wrong & overmedication and/or inappropriate treatments and operations? My child died of ‘treatable’ Hodgkins- too many medical interventions and over doses of chemo. The only survivors that I met were the ones that had minimal medical intervention.

Jeanne must be a “holistic” dr and based on the information she has been fed, I sincerely hope that she never has a diagnosis of cancer because she isn’t well informed on the subject and would probably do more harm to herself and others than good. Here in the real world, we know that Non-Hodkins Lyphoma is a VERY treatable cancer with a high rate of remission if treated medically. I don’t know where Jeanne is getting her information. Probably from a one sided “health article”. I work with these types of patients on a daily basis, so I have first hand knowledge of how this type of cancer works. I have never seen a 40 day juice fast cure cancer. If it did I’m sure that everyone would be using it as the main treatment. While holistic medicine is very good to include, it is hardly the best treatment option. I’m not sure what kind of cancer the previous poster was refering to. There are many types, each with it’s own best treatment option. I think that it is horrible what happened to this little boy. The parents should be charged criminally. God bless him.

A very sad story, one that the mother will have to live with for the rest of her life.

My comment for right now is Jeanne, are you a fruit loop?

So you are saying that if you eat your veggies it will cure cancer?

Do you have any proof that it works?

If you do, aren’t you like the “cure” all people that go on TV and promise if they buy the book, then subscribe to the newsletter for a small monthly fee, and of course don’t forget the website that you have to use a credit card to “get” (what a joke) more info.

Of course this is my opinion.

This is in reference to Jeanne comment.
A 92% cure rate isn’t good enough for you,are YOU freaken serious?!!
This lady belongs behind bars!She witheld treatment for her own kid and he more than likely
would have survived if she gave him his own meds.
i DON’T CARE IF YOU THINK A PRENT HAS A RIGHT TO WITHOLD TREATMENT OR NOT.
In my opinion,he more than likely would have made it,and is now dead because mommy was playing doctor.Just because she is his mother does not make her the Messiah,he had a very treatable form of cancer and very likely would have made it,but is now dead thanks to his idiot mom.

you are so clueless. You have no right in judging this mother and what she has gone through with this child. You do not know her circumstances in her life…..I am outraged, you as a doctor, don’t realize that every case, every family, every person can cope with only so much in life…..yes—YOU would have done it differently–you have the financial support, social support and education to have handled this differently but to be “outraged” by this mother or the health care system just shows your ignorance and compassion for each person and really how the health care system works….you need to work in the real world

No, Jeanne, your fruit juice cancer treatment is YOUR opinion. Chemotherapy is a proven and effective method that has saved countless lives. Just because you’d heard about 9 people that chemotherapy didn’t work for, doesn’t disprove the overall effectiveness of the treatment. That’s like saying the flu shot doesn’t work because someone somewhere still got the flu after getting the shot despite the thousands of people who were protected by it.

If you had READ the article with a modicum of reading comprehension, you would have seen that Dr. Manny’s assertion that chemotherapy would have saved this child was a diagnosis from the child’s doctors not his guess.

From the article:
“Non-Hodgkins lymphoma is a very treatable cancer, but it requires adequate treatment that could range from months to a year. In fact, doctors had given Jeremy a 92 percent cure rate — assuming his mother would do her part in helping him complete treatment.”

And in my humble opinion, if I ever get seriously ill, I’m going to trust the people with all the letters behind their names before I go off on some half-baked regime my tea leaves recommended. Try peddling your organically grown fruitcake remedies back on your home planet Uranus.

god will bless and keep him and his parents as well as the medical care givers that have decided to ignorantly cast aspersions on the parents and their intentions. each of us knows what is best for another persons child never do the parents to which god has entrusted them. so it is the responcibility of society to wrest from god the authority to decide who should be parenting and how they should do it. and it is important that we spend as much time and money possible to inflict unwanted, and often usless, tortures on anyone unable to defend himself so as to secure the financial futures of they who have sacrificed so much at the alter of education that they deserve the periogitives of god.

Wow! A 40 day juice fast cures cancer? Well, why didn’t we try that years ago! Very naive thinking. The article states he had a 92% chance of cure. That’s good enough for me. I would go to the ends of the earth to help my child, and a daily diet of apple juice won’t cure cancer.

How does someone without insurance pay for costly medical treatment? I really need to know.

i wonder how many of you have sick children? just playing devil’s advocate here, but what if she has no more time off from her job to take her child to dr. appointments? employers in this economy are not very sympathetic to parents who need to take time off to care for sick children; people are afraid of being the sore thumb in this economy and don’t want to cause any waves for fear of losing their jobs. if they lose their jobs how will they afford anything? does the mother even have a job? what is her debt/bills situation? what if she couldn’t afford to take time off even if it was unpaid? what if she couldn’t afford he medication? keep in mind that in MA, health insurance is required by the state, but if you don’t have it, you are paying cost for a lot of medications. not making excuses on how she acted, i just think we should hear more of her reasoning before judging. maybe she felt backed into a corner?

There is no mention made of why the mother did these things. Could it be that she didn’t have the money to pay for the co-pays for the missed or cancelled treatments? Did she have insurance? If not then why is she to blame for not getting her son treatment when she could not possibly pay for that treatment. How expensive were the prescriptions she didn’t pick up? Could it be she couldn’t afford to pick up the prescriptions when she tried. To offer up opinions about someone’s character on an issue like this with out talking about the monetary aspects of cancer treatment in today’s American health system is grossly unfair to this woman. Why were there no comments about the state of health care? Do you think cancer treatments are free? Or even cheap? Or within the financial grasp of anyone without insurance or a huge bank balance? You should think again about your response and try again because I think you may have gotten it very wrong.

Jeanne, My son has Autism. Will need services for the rest of his life. He has been on a special organic diet for 6 months now. There is NO improvement! If the dr told me right now he had cancer and needed chemo, he would never miss one app. I cannot imagine my life without him!! He fights me everyday because he doesn’t want to got to therapy or leave this house, but I am going to do everything possible to try and improve his quality of life. I know chemo is hard, I’ve known many adults suffer through it. But to deny him treatment, would be just wrong. And to deny him just because he has Autism is more than wrong! The Mother is Negligent!

While I do doubt the effectiveness of a juice diet as a cure-all, who are any of you to tell Jeanne if she is right or wrong? She has a right to her opinion, and there are many people in the world who feel the exact same way she does. And fundamentally, she is correct that parents have the right to choose their child’s treatment. In fact, I’m not even sure I agree with this mother being prosecuted based on that idea.

One thing I do find interesting. When I first read an article on this issue, there was nothing mentioning the boy’s autism. Not that I’m condoning her behavior in the least, but I wonder if that had something to do with her “it’s too much of a hassle” attitude.

Dr. Manny, thank you for caring about this boy enough to be upset. Thank you for asking for God’s blessing on his soul. I appreciate that you care enough to be so angry.

No, we don’t know why she did this, if she is a lousy mom or if she is financially strapped or if she is just so overwhelmed from taking care of an autistic child that she viewed this as her way out. Maybe degrees of any of these reasons. Maybe something nobody has hypothesized yet.

Does it really matter?

At the end of the day, a beautiful boy is apparently needlessly gone. I applaud Dr. Manny for having the heart to be emotional and the voice to remind parents, no matter what the odds, that all of our children deserve the absolute best that we as parents can offer them – medically, emotionally, financially, everything.

Jeanne, I understand what you are saying about homeopathy and naturopathy and the immune system and raw, whole foods and organic lifestyle. Certainly these things have helped my own son, in addition to traditional medications and treatments. But it was hard to choose this route – so many people worried that I was throwing his future away on “hippy-dippy snake oil sellers”. You just promoted that image and made it harder for the next autism-mom to puruse alternative treatments and therapies.

May the Lord bless and keep this young man close to him. And may the Lord also bless his mom, because no matter what happened, this is going to haunt her forever.

And I also agree with Cyndi. I don’t have children yet but her post just reiterates my thoughts about everything being the parents choice. I also agree with the poster who questioned their financial status. Before crucifing this mother and sending her to prison, shouldn’t her ability to afford treatment be scrutinized?

Oh yeah, one more question – where was the dad when his son needed help getting treatment? He sure managed to get a lawyer now and has the gumption now to bring media attention to his son’s untimely death. Where was he when his son needed a ride to the doctor, a hand to hold, money for medication, or anything else? Why didn’t he get a lawyer to go over what needed to be done to make sure his son got all of the office visits and medications and treatments he needed?

Okay everyone. The article begins with “A lawyer for boy’s father”, not to say that what the mother did was correct, but where was the father? Could the mother have been struggling with daily work and trying to take care of a child with special needs and the father not helping? I don’t want to put blame on anyone, but that is all you hear about the father.
If I had a child that was sick like Jeremy (Bless his heart) and if my estranged spouse would not help, I would have to say that I would do all that I possibly could to get assistance for my child. Instead of saying something and hiring attorneys now, why didn’t he take action and care for the child if he felt it was wrong in the beginning, then he may have had a son that would still be alive.
No one knows the answers to what God has in store for each of us, but I do believe everything happens for a reason. My heart goes out for the family and friends that Jeremy touched in his short life.

Jeane-

You are not very bright and you can stick to your little diet and hopefully you will not need my services (I work with cancer patients). I can’t begin to tell you how many people that I encounter that have been very healthy up until now, the diagnosis of cancer. Most of them are avid runners, excercise daily, eat healthy etc. So your bogus statement that many ppl w/ cancer did not practice healthy eating habits is ABSURD. That’s a slap in the face to all cancer patients. A child has passed on because his mother was negligent, plain and simple. All of the family members I encounter have done anything and everything possible to help out their mother, father, sibling, child, spouse overcome cancer. This lymphoma the child died from is very treatable, but like all cancers, there may be recurrences and that is something that not even the doctors will not know. Some treatments may work on some ppl while others don’t There are many resources that ppl can find to help with the costs of these medications, they are not cheap, even then, the mother should not have witheld treatment. There are hospitals that seek court orders to “pull the plug” on brain dead patients, why couldn’t they seek a court order to admit him him and treat him? We’re not hearing the complete story in my opinion.

I, too and the mother of a special needs child. My daughter is 29 years old and has gone through numerous medical and behavioral challenges including seizures. Should my daughter be diagnosed with a life threatening illness such as cancer, I would fight for my daughters life and do everything possible to insure her complete recovery. Inspite of my daughter’s disability, I feel that her life is valuable, she is a happy, loving and productive young lady..and losing her would be devistating to our family.

I totally disagree with your assessment and that of others that the mother was negligent. Nobody knows if the child’s quality of life would have been better with chemo. Chemo is not “treatment” it is akin to spraying pesticides on your garden or your lawn. Chemo is toxic and causes “chemo brain”. Conventional medicine does NOT know how to CURE cancer. They know how to cut, slash and burn things – they have no clue about “curing”. We may never know if the child’s life would have been spared with chemo. Some people survive the “treatment” of radiation and chemo – most do not. But of course their deaths are listed as death from cancer when it is really death from the TREATMENT of cancer.

I was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma (breast cancer) in late 2005. I never had a single day of chemo or radiation and did not choose surgery. I chose natural cures and I am still here and have never suffered a single day of symptoms from it – except for the extreme FEAR the medical doctors tried to peddle to me which was worse than the stupid lump.

I’m sick and tired of seeing people interfere with parental decisions. It is their child and they get to decide about the child’s care. Once we take that away we have turned over our children to be raised by the state and I don’t think anyone thinks that is a good idea (except the government)

As for Jeanne, if this natural remedy was so effective believe me there wouldn’t be any deaths contributed to cancer. As for Susan, I am so sorry on the lost of your son and my deepest condolescence to you. Nevertheless this is not about if the Angel would have survived it is about a Parent’s responsibility to care for her child and do everything she could to save his life. Your son wasn’t saved, but you did all you could. Angel’s body could have responded to treatment and he could be alive today. Not everyone’s body responds to treatment but we all must try to save our children and do whatever is necessary. This individual who gave birth to the Angel should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law as she is a MURDERER. Our Government would have supplied her w/all the financial help she needed so $ wasn’t a factor she’s just a selfish piece of garbadge who though only of living her life and never mind her sons life. As for the father, was he aware of his sons sickness and the lack of treatment, he is as much to blame as she is. As for the hospital, they should be held accountable, because if a minor is in need of medical treatment to save their life and they see that the mother isn’t following through they should have contacted the Bureau of Child Welfare and made sure that the child was being seen by a doctor and treatment was being provided. May God Bless our Angel forever as he is seated next to him.

In a perfect world.. the penalty for for the parents under law for this would be a death sentence carried out by ebola… and the witholding any meds from them…. Then they can “pray” for a miracle and see how much that helps (im actually suprised this lady isnt a religous nut but just a regular nut. thats a change for once.. usually they think god is going to save em..so sad). might as well pray to the table top lamp.. or your shoelaces

To Bobby – the parents brought the child into the world and I believe they have the right to care for them as they see fit. Period. End of story. Because others don’t agree with their choices does NOT give the other people any right to condemn parents. There are lots of people who should not be parents but it is a SLIPPERY SLOPE to start judging the decisions of parents with their children and that slippery slope leads to a nanny state where the government dictates all decisions regarding our own children. Be careful what you wish for because you might get it.

I’m a bit shocked at the crucifixion of Jeanne by the lot of you. How DARE this woman express her opinion agains the Almighty Dr. Alvarez! Shall we all get a rope and find a tree to hang her from?

You can disagree with her all you want, but there are ALWAYS two sides to every story. Perhaps some of you who are “flaming” her should take your heads out of your own rear ends and be a bit more respectful. This case of this poor child is highly sensitive and it is not YOUR child who has died.

Show some respect.

We had a family member with terminal cancer. Our doctor’s office helped us work with the pharmaceutical companies for reduced or free medication. They did this even though there was no chance of survival beyond a year – the treatment was just palliative. So if you are facing the same situation maybe this will help.

ruthiness,

Your comment is just silly. The whole they brought him into the world and they can care for him how they want is a just silly. If there is a 92% chance that the childs life could be saved by treatment it is is stupid to say parents can refuse treatement just because they were the ones who brought him into the world.. other wise you could molest your kids and make them work 20 hour shifts too.. after all you brought them into the world .. you should know what is best…right?

To ghandi – putting all your faith into the hands of medical doctors is a lot more of a risk than putting your faith in other idols. The faith belongs with your body’s ability to heal itself. No doctor can heal a body – they just need to remove the obstacles to healing and CHEMO and RADIATION are OBSTACLES TO HEALING.

Chemo and Radiation are the Agent Orange method of “curing” cancer…. I pray for someday having targeted “killing” that only affects the cancer cells. The current methods kill all cells which are dividing… which includes mucous cells lining stomach and mouth etc.. Who the hell ever came up with that as a “cure”.. should be shot in my opinion.

ghandi – you are quoting bogus numbers – 92% by whose account? I would say it is more likely that 92% of cancer patients DIE from chemo and radiation treatment which weakens the person so they become susceptible to pneumonia. The cancer scammers will list the cause of death as pneumonia but the patient may not have ever contracted pneumonia had they not had their immune system completely destroyed by chemo and/or radiation.

What is SILLY is to TREAT cancer, which is a problem with the immune system, by destroying the immune system!!! DOH!!!!

Furthermore – everyone last one of us has “cancer” cells – but they only become a tumor when their growth goes unchecked by a suppressed immune system. You would be shocked to find out how many autopsies are performed on accident victims and they find small cancer tumors that the person never knew was there and it did not affect their health OR cause their death.

A typical grocery cart is FILLED with toxic CRAP that contributes to the huge increase in cancer. Artificial sweeteners are one of the biggest offenders yet the FDA tells us it is safe.. Yeah right.. just like Vioxx is safe..

I love how everyone is so sanctimonious about villifying this woman. now she is charged in the death of her son? the docs are all saying that the cancer he had could have been cured. the same docs that said that Terry Shiavo would make a full recovery. if it was such a concern i guess the attending physicians and nurses did not call child and family services while the boy was alive…parents have the right you know those individual rights (the constitution) to have their child treated the way the want…

Jaenne—I agree with you.

My son was on so much medication because of autism, adhd, anxiety —–
HE ALMOST DIED.
He was hospitalized in Augusta with high blood pressure at age 10, heart problems—YOU NAME IT.

ALSO–he wanted to die. He was suicidal because of the meds. He is now off all of the meds and is doing fine…..

Medications can KILL. A special needs child on meds is WAY different than a neurotipical child, like most of you probably have.

Do any of you have severely Austitic children???
Unless you have walked in those shoes, you should not judge.

Dr Johanna Budwig was able to cure the most far-gone cancer patients with her Budwig Protocol. Google it and learn…I wish this mother had learned about the many natural cures that she could have tried…

ALL drugs originally come from plant sources that are replicated in the labs so the drug companies can make money. The drug companies don’t want people to know about the original plant sources that can cure and reverse cancer because then the BILLION dollar cancer industry would dry up.

You ARE what you EAT.

My son was on so much medication because of autism, adhd, anxiety, etc…HE ALMOST DIED.
He was hospitalized in Augusta with high blood pressure at age 10, heart problems—YOU NAME IT. ALSO–he wanted to die. He was suicidal because of the meds and hospitalized in a child psych ward. He is now off all of the meds and is doing fine.

Medications can KILL, especially mixed.

A special needs child on meds is WAY different than a neurotipical child, like most of you probably have. Do any of you have severely Austitic children???
Unless you have walked in those shoes, you should not judge.

I will do ANYTHING to preserve my son’s life, but there is more to this story than we all know.

Here are some natural substances that can reverse cancer:

Flax Oil/Cottage Cheese blend (Budwig)
Turmeric
Artemisinin
Graviola
Shark Cartilage
Ellagic Acid (berries)
IP-6
B-17 (laetrile)

http://www.cancertutor.com/Cancer/Laetrile.html

http://www.cancertutor.com/Other/NoCancer.html

I am in no way associated with the above site. It is just an excellent site for learning about alternatives to radiation and chemo

ruthiness..

first off.. your comment about doctors not being able to do anything and it being up to the body is just asinine.. You do know that in the medieval days the life expectancy was like 30.. Its now like 75.. in that time… god didn’t come down and upgrade everyone with better immune systems.. nope.. those doctors and scientists you rail against made that possible. and the people in the medieval days were not shopping at price rite and buying all this bad food you talk of… it was fresh

The fact of the matter is simple.. although she did not stab her mentally deficient kid she murdered him by witholding meds none the less. Actually her way was prob alot worse.. my aunt died from cancer.. let me tell you it is not a pretty thing to have happen to you. and it can take a LONG time.

I do not advocate for witholding of medical treatment, but we as a nation kill 10’s of thousands of unborn children in the name of a “SO CALLED RIGHT TO CHOOSE” Where is the outcry against those mothers

JEANNE – put down your juicer and try to open your mind for a moment; you sound as nutty as the organic “raw food” trail mix you probably sell out of your trunk.

Who are you to actually say “Doubtful that many of these people with cancer followed good eating practices to begin with”? What do you know about the people who face terrifying cancer diagnoses? Have you been told you have cancer? Has your close family member? Have you ever known healthy, “raw-food” eating people who have – out of the blue – been told they have cancer? You know what? People reading this have, and we know first hand that our brave relatives who were unexpectedly and unwittingly turned into cancer patients fought like warriors – and some of them died heroically fighting, being as healthy in their practices and habits as you, Jeanne. So other than your observations of “10 people in the last year, I think your judgement is awfully ignorant and your theory is simply untrue. You don’t deserve to even know the inspiring personal stories behind why you’re so wrong.

Nobody disputes that a good diet helps, but you’re insulting all of us and our brave family members who choose healthy lives ALL THEIR LIVES, BEFORE CANCER – probably with more discipline than you can even imagine “Jeanne” – and then have to fight like mad to cling to life to beat cancer one more day.

I’m sure you’ll resume your 40 day juice fast and then write a book about how you’ve cured cancer.

Where is the outrage at the family court that permitted this? Was there a GAL? Was this setting truly “in the best interest of the child?” Or was this just one of thousands every year where custody is awarded to maximize Title IV return in child support payments? Maybe it has been only about the money and that best interest of the child is meaningless…or dead.

This mother is suffering, leave her alone. Being someone who lost his father to “cancer” can understand. My father did the traditional approach, chemo, radiation ect. Did it work?? The “cancer” was gone after the the first round of treatments; no more tumors. (Part of the X% cure rate sugested?????) “It” returned a few months later. More treatments ect… then sent home to die. What % of success rate was he?? He was probably considers statisically at 50%. First round successful, second round not so much. To me his success rate was 0%!! People in the medical areana are great people, trying to do the best they can with what they know. You are seeing more and more doctors asking questions as they witness patient after patient not being cured. How can you cure anything if you do not know the cause?? What is causing the cells to spoil?? Sure you can get rid of tumors; surgery, chemo, radiation ect., but you have not stopped what is causing the tumors to form in the first place!! With me experiencing my father’s health challenges, which started LONG before being diagnoised with cancer, I have done alot of research trying to find answers and the best I have found is Dr. Robert O Young’s work. It makes the most sense of anything that I have heard. Go to phmiracle.com.

Jeanne, wow. You are a woefully uninformed person.
Your comments are ignorant and irresponsible.
You should be ashamed of yourself.

My son was diagnosed last year with lymphoma (stage 3).
We immediately launched into an aggressive chemotherapy treatment and in 6 months he was completely clear of the disease. Lymphoma is highly treatable and curable.
My son is healthy now thanks to his dedicated team of pediatric oncologists.

If your child is standing in front of an oncoming train, you get him the hell out of the way. That is what a parent’s role is; to PROTECT and do your BEST for your child. Chemotherapy certainly has it’s down sides, but the upside is a chance at life after cancer. The danger this boy faced was not chemo, nor was it lymphoma. His killer was his Mother. How can you reconcile that?

You’re an idiot.

While this is a very sad story, we do not have all the info. While it says the boy was autistic, there is a whole spectrum of autism with some much worse off than others. As someone pointed out, this can make treatment much more difficult. Denise makes such a good point about this.

The other thing that isn’t being given much consideration is the Mother’s state. Not totally sure about autism spectrum disorders but I know that ADHD can tend to run in families. It is possible that the mother herself may have had something that impaired her ability to function. And that on top of caring for an autistic child could wear a person down.

How many of those who are judging her have had the burden of caring for another person for an extended period of time? I have and it can wear you down and make you less able to cope when additional things–such as cancer in this case–are added.

And I think that Dr Manny makes a good point about the health care center and follow up. After caring for my Dad for several years with many needs, as I look back on some of the treatment by some of the drs I found they were very insensitive to the needs of caregivers. And sometimes they give a diagnosis without bothering to refer for needed or helpful supportive services. This was the case when my Dad’s dr was told he was incontinent and there wasn’t anything they could do about it. Medically maybe not, but as I look back he sure should have offered referrals or steered us toward help in dealing with it so I didn’t have to figure it out all myself–along with his other needs including mild dementia, etc.

Caregiving is draining. My Mom had Lymphoma of a very fast moving kind so she only lasted 7 weeks after diagnosis. Most of the time there were 3 of us to share in helping her but I was worn out afterwards (of course my Dad had to be taken to the hospital during her last week with a bleeding ulcer in the middle of the night which didn’t help) and that was such a short period of time compared to what many cancer patients face.

People are assuming that the Mother was a bad parent and may have purposely decided to not give the needed care for the cancer because of his autism. Another possibility is that she may have already been so overwhelmed that she couldn’t keep up.

The cancer drs had to have realized that the son had autism (unless it was very mild) and should have realized that this complicated matters and should have taken steps to deal with both and to see that the Mother had the supportive services necessary or at the very least referred her to supportive services that could have helped her with this.

The fact that she was missing appointments and not filling all the prescriptions could have been a sign that she was overwhelmed. One thing missing from the article is info about what the drs and medical center did about the missed appts and unfilled prescriptions? Did they do anything to see why that was happening–especially given that the boy was autistic so care would have been more complicated?

My feelings after dealing with my Dad’s drs while caring for him for several years are that drs need to get a clue about issues faced by caregivers and try to factor that into their treatment and care program. Some people cope better than others–some get overwhelmed more easily than others. If someone is already feeling overwhelmed by being a single parent caring for an autistic child, it would have been even more overwhelming to be faced with all the many needs of caring for a cancer patient.

Was it hard to give the kid his medication? Was it a fight every time? It might have been. If so was the mother offered any supportive services to find solutions to this such as possibly a different form or way of administering the meds?

I know with my Dad I fought to try to keep his life as normal as possible but there were times when I was just so worn out from having to fight with drs offices or his Medicare provider, etc that I didn’t follow up on some things I should have.

While this is a very sad story, we do not have all the info. While it says the boy was autistic, there is a whole spectrum of autism with some much worse off than others. As someone pointed out, this can make treatment much more difficult. Denise makes such a good point about this.

The other thing that isn’t being given much consideration is the Mother’s state. Not totally sure about autism spectrum disorders but I know that ADHD can tend to run in families. It is possible that the mother herself may have had something that impaired her ability to function. And that on top of caring for an autistic child could wear a person down.

How many of those who are judging her have had the burden of caring for another person for an extended period of time? I have and it can wear you down and make you less able to cope when additional things–such as cancer in this case–are added.

And I think that Dr Manny makes a good point about the health care center and follow up. After caring for my Dad for several years with many needs, as I look back on some of the treatment by some of the drs I found they were very insensitive to the needs of caregivers. And sometimes they give a diagnosis without bothering to refer for needed or helpful supportive services. This was the case when my Dad’s dr was told he was incontinent and there wasn’t anything they could do about it. Medically maybe not, but as I look back he sure should have offered referrals or steered us toward help in dealing with it so I didn’t have to figure it out all myself–along with his other needs including mild dementia, etc.

Caregiving is draining. My Mom had Lymphoma of a very fast moving kind so she only lasted 7 weeks after diagnosis. Most of the time there were 3 of us to share in helping her but I was worn out afterwards (of course my Dad had to be taken to the hospital during her last week with a bleeding ulcer in the middle of the night which didn’t help) and that was such a short period of time compared to what many cancer patients face.

People are assuming that the Mother was a bad parent and may have purposely decided to not give the needed care for the cancer because of his autism. Another possibility is that she may have already been so overwhelmed that she couldn’t keep up.

The cancer drs had to have realized that the son had autism (unless it was very mild) and should have realized that this complicated matters and should have taken steps to deal with both and to see that the Mother had the supportive services necessary or at the very least referred her to supportive services that could have helped her with this.

The fact that she was missing appointments and not filling all the prescriptions could have been a sign that she was overwhelmed. One thing missing from the article is info about what the drs and medical center did about the missed appts and unfilled prescriptions? Did they do anything to see why that was happening–especially given that the boy was autistic so care would have been more complicated?
My feelings after dealing with my Dad’s drs while caring for him for several years are that drs need to get a clue about issues faced by caregivers and try to factor that into their treatment and care program. Some people cope better than others–some get overwhelmed more easily than others. If someone is already feeling overwhelmed by being a single parent caring for an autistic child, it would have been even more overwhelming to be faced with all the many needs of caring for a cancer patient.

Was it hard to give the kid his medication? Was it a fight every time? It might have been. If so was the mother offered any supportive services to find solutions to this such as possibly a different form or way of administering the meds?

I know with my Dad I fought to try to keep his life as normal as possible but there were times when I was just so worn out from having to fight with drs offices or his Medicare provider, etc that I didn’t follow up on some things I should have. Somehow he had a stroke that led to brain damage which we didn’t even know about until much later. Don’t even know when that happened, but I do know that I got a bit worn down with him thinking he was having a heart attack and calling paramedics or taking him to the ER multiple times only to have it not be a heart attack.

He had arthritis, had had multiple hip replacements so he didn’t move so well and used a walker, had pain so that he needed strong pain meds, and was on multiple meds that I had to make a chart up to keep track of. I know for my Mom I also had to make up a chart to keep track of all the meds and when to give them to her.

And like others have mentioned about other diagnoses on the death certificate. I don’t remember what hers said but I’m fairly certain she had pneumonia at the end as she got to where she was aspirating when swallowing and we finally had to take her in to the hospital because we were not set up to give her other than oral pain meds which she wasn’t capable of taking any more. And we had promised that the pain would be taken care of. (She went downhill so fast at the end that we didn’t have time to arrange hospice.)

I work with this boys dad, he fought very hard to get custody of his son , so he could get him the care he needed but met much resistance form the probate court in salem MA. In this State they Believe that only the Mother can care for their children. I can only hope that the Judges who let this mother Kill her child get the same she gets

Jeanne – you are woefully ignorant. Your comments are irresponsible and lacking sensitivity to people who have, or have had, sick children suffering from pediatric cancer. As a mother of formerly sick child (Lymphoma, last year – 6 months of intensive treatment, there is now NO sign of disease) – my son has a future that the child in this story was not given an opportunity to have. This child did not lose his battle with cancer, he lost his battle with his mother who should have at least turned him over to someone with enough sense to properly care for him and put his health FIRST. Children’s Hospitals do not turn away sick children. Chemo is not without it’s pitfalls, everyone knows – but parents must do the BEST they can for their children. This is the second case in so many months where a young child has needlessly suffered and died from a highly treatable / curable form of cancer due to absolute, unequivocal negligence of the parent(s). This should be treated as a homicide, or at the very least manslaughter. Parents have a duty to protect their children. This woman failed in the most horrific way, as did anyone around her who knew this child was suffering in such a way. There was no excuse for this. And the clinic he had been going to (and missed several appointments with) should have followed up; I’m not sure if that happened, but I can’t imagine they’d let a human being needing aggressive, immediate treatment fall through the cracks. Tragic.

I am mother to a cancer survivor. When someone tells you what the best option is for your child you listen – then you do endless research looking for solid facts and figures, long term effects, complications , implications- physically and psychologically on that child and the family . I covered 2300 pages in less tan 3 weeks as we went to war with this disease. Tere is not a drug , blood count, trial, holistic or traditional approach tat was not researched , considered and carefully evaluated .
This isnt about someone choosing a different option than traditional med- I migt not agree wit that choice but I would respect any decision a parent made out of love , hard work/research and soul searching for her child . This monster agreed to the prescribed protocol – and then was too selfish, lazy and neglectful to follow it . Her child did not die because of a moral CHOICE – he died due to a moral ABSENCE .

It is like watching your child starve to death because its a hassle to go to the grocery store – it is one of the most heinous examples of neglect I have ever heard of . The irony is if she gets cancer we will be paying for her treatment and i will bet you she could make time for those in or out of prison.

May God bless and keep all children

Jeanne, is fruitcake part of your regimine? Or fruit loops? Because you seem to be both

So many of you people don’t understand because “cure rate” is not how we normally perceive it. To be cured of cancer by the establishment, means to be symptom free for 5 years. After that, if the person dies of cancer – they are still ‘cured’. I wouldn’t put my child through chemotherapy – THAT is cruel and sick. I would pursue treatments, but chemo would not be one of them. Stop reading from websites and doctors which wont give full disclosure about their sponsors.

This is a tragic event, no one can deny or question that. Having said this I want to say that there are a lot of assumptions being made here……..many of them instigated by the tone of this article. There are details to this story missing. The mother’s side has not been presented and why does the father escape the wrath of the author and the majority here? ….. I think that many of you need to tread more carefully as we will be judged by the measure that we judge others. Or if you do not yet believe the tenant of “Judge not lest ye be judged” then just go with “what goes around comes around.”

There are a lot of IFs here, IF she had the money, IF she couldn’t get off work, IF her reasons were selfish, IF the father wasn’t supportive, IF she didn’t want to put her child through the rigors of chemo……and none should even comment about “what I’d do if” unless you’ve been there.

Dr. Manny, your despair over this child’s death are heart felt I’m sure but assuming the worst of this mother without having spoken to her is unfair. A better use of your notoriety would be to educate parents on how to detect such an illness early and what the options and risks of treatment are. Please don’t let your anger at this terrible loss turn to hatred and vitriol. That would be a shame because you seem to be a man of compassion and intelligence.

The parents will have to answer right or wrong. No sense everyone swelling up with hatred. It won’t bring him back.

Ruthiness, you’re an idiot. Do shut up and let the adults talk. FYI, if eating plants and veggies cures cancer, one wonders why the disease was considered untreatable before the advent of these same drugs produced by the “thieving” pharma companies.

From MrsPage:
“Did Dr. Manny bother to find out if the family could afford the chemo and dr appointments? These meds can run to hundreds of dollars a month. My step brother had leukemia, and the meds were simply unaffordable. My step father had to quit his job to qualify for medicaid just so he could get the chemo and pay for his hospital visits. Maybe Dr. Manny should investigate ALL the reasons before giving his opinion.”

So in your opinion, there is a price cap for the life of a person and parents should really consider if it is more affordable to treat their child or simply to what? Start over?

Kudos to your stepfather for doing all he could for his son.

Having lived with an Autistic sibling all of my life, has it occurred to anyone that his mother may have seen this as a blessing in the end. Did this child fight and bite the people around him with every round of chemo? Was he hyperactive and out of control? I would never deliberately end my brothers life, however when we are both in our 60s and I am still wiping his chin and taking care of every one of his needs,(not my own needs, no time for that!) 24-7, I can’t guarantee I will go along with treatment for a fatal disease.

Non-Hodgkin,s Lymphoma doesn’t typically have a cure rate of 92%, that would be Hodgkin’s lymphoma which presents as a single tumor. Non-Hodgkins presents as a more diffuse presentation so is harder to cure. I think the original facts in the case need to be checked.

Until YOU walk in that parent’s shoes, check your pompous outrage. You don’t know the family’s fiscal status or what sort of social support they might (more probably might NOT) have. Simply having an autistic member in the family is very challenging – to complicate the situation with cancer – I don’t care how ostensibly curable the health team says it is – often means an extraordinary drain on energy and resources. Your position is untenable to anyone who has been there. My heart goes out to that poor mother.

I was just reading the comments about the child with Autism and then cancer. I understand some folks feel we can ” cure ” our children with Autism by diet. I do not believe this to be true. However, if my son had a treatable cancer, I think I would have to go for the cure..that has a higher cure rate for sure. I feel for the mother, as I don’t know what her plight may be, I am greatful to God that the parents of our Autistic son allowed us to adopt him, as they knew they could not handle him. There is a long tragic story behind that but I choose to share only the good things. Autism is a very difficult thing for our children and but there is always hope. We are lucky, our son with PDD NOS is functioning …he is 9 yrs old..potty trained now and we are teaching him to ” live” with his Autism. I am so sorry for the mom that took a decision that was so very unpopular but as the biological parent, it was her choice to make. May God grant her peace.

Where is the father? How affordable was the txt? Was a financial need overlooked? Did someone discuss the mother’s ability to deal with situation? Who offered her help? Was she working and also trying to deal with this? There are lots of questions that one needs to ask in order to HELP someone….pt and family included. It is easy to cast judgement on people….VERY easy. God bless all involved and now could we reach out with some love??? Helping rather than judging another person?
Sandy Lobe

Jeanne, I take offense at your comment that it is most likely that people with cancer do not eat properly. I just finished radiation treatment for breast cancer. I eat properly and exercise regularly. Proper diet can certainly reduce your risk of cancer but does not eliminate it. Your comment was ignorant.

Again, re-reading Dr Manny’s comments and the other comments it appears that Dr Manny doesn’t have a clue about how wearing care giving can be. Or that a worn out, unsupported caregiver may not be able to keep up with all the care needs.

I’ve read about how your dr is supposed to be your partner in treatment but the reality is often something different. What did the dr’s do to determine whether the mother understood and was capable of carrying out what was needed? She faces charges, but where were they when she missed the appts?

Some care providers may be very insensitive to the needs and challenges of their patients. Several yrs ago I was going away for a few days and my niece was coming to care for her grandfather during that time. So I took him in to the dr’s on Fri before I left on Wed, to get checked before hand to avoid her having to deal with stuff that could have been prevented.

I forgot at first to ask that he be checked for a UTI. But I did before I left, thinking they could just give him a cup for a sample. No, he has something different, at the lab for male patients. Turns out it was a 24 hr test which would not have given results before I left and would have been virtually impossible for him to do with his incontinence without a catheter. So he ignored the whole purpose of the visit which was to make sure he didn’t have anything pressing until I got back–not do some other stuff that could wait and wouldn’t work anyway. And required a trip to the lab.

Very good comment by Sandy Lobe.

Another issue related to care giving is that studies have shown that care giving can put a lot of stress on the caregiver that can actually shorten the caregiver’s life. You can tend to put your own life on hold, just doing what has to be done until you are totally worn out without maybe even totally realizing how it is affecting you. I know I partly did but didn’t realize how worn down I was until I was no longer the primary caregiver.

But I also know of 2 cases where one person was caring for another terminally ill person and then it was discovered the caregiver had cancer but it was likely advanced by the time found and the caregiver ended up dying not long after the original caregiver.

And I know that you can only do so much, so there were times that I ignored symptoms I was having because I needed to be taking my Dad to one or more drs appts. And some time amidst all the other things he had a stroke or series of them that was later discovered by a catscan. And it had been overlooked. We don’t even know when it happened. You can just get so tired that you overlook stuff. And that could happen with either caring for a cancer patient or an autistic child. With both the likelihood of wearing out and not being able to cope greatly increased.

I talked to a dr friend how much training they get in med school on dealing with caregivers. Not much. THAT NEEDS TO CHANGE. It has been studied. Apply the theory so caregivers are supported.

i survived cancer.. it sucked. i was fine with death.. the meds & treatments are painful. you feel like your being killed one cell at a time. it is true torture. who thought this crap up, and thought it to be humian. its all greedy snake oil salemen. i would not want a child of mine to suffer for one year when they dont understand what is happening to them or why mommy makes me sick. personally, i dont understand why people are almost forced to have treatment. death is part of life and god is in control… how do you know that the doctors are going against gods will. in my heart i was so fine with my leukemia/death. family talked me into a transplant. it didnt feel right. i regret it everyday.. the gvhd & meds r terrible. finely, i stopped all the meds against my dr wish & felt better. i think the medical field is about business and money. if you have people that go againist the fix it doctrine … whos, income will go down? my doctor already knows that i will keep my next cancer. i dont do any of the preventive screenings, why waste the money it im not going to fix it. when our animals are sick and suffering, we put them down. why? because we love them and they are like family members… but our people, well, we dont love them that much. mostly due to our own selfishness… let the sick go to a better place. i wish my family loved me enough. boy, i could go on forever. this is something close to my heart

As a totally devoted mother of a special needs daughter, it would be hard for me to inflict the pain of long term medical treatments on her because she wouldn’t have any understanding of why she needed it. We love and adore her and have devoted our lives to her, but I feel it would be cruel for us to put her through the treatments described here. I have a friend who chose to not give her daughter treatments in a case similar to this (with the doctor’s permission) and she has done very well and lived much longer than anticipated. I would hope each case would be individually evaluated and parents not criticized for their decisions.