16-y/o Allowed to Refuse Chemotherapy

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

A judge ruled Tuesday that a 16-year-old cancer patient who has refused conventional medical treatment does not have to report to a hospital as previously ordered and scheduled a trial to settle the dispute.

Abraham Cherrix, who is battling Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymphatic system, refused a second round of chemotherapy when he learned early this year that the cancer had returned. Abraham chose to instead go on a sugar-free, organic diet and take herbal supplements under the supervision of a clinic in Mexico.

A social worker asked a juvenile court judge to require the teen to continue conventional treatment, and the judge on Friday ordered Abraham to report to a hospital Tuesday. Accomack County Circuit Court Judge Glen A. Taylor set aside that order.

"I feel free today. I was let off the leash," Abraham said after Taylor agreed to a stay and set a trial date of Aug. 16.

Taylor also ended joint custody of Abraham between his parents and social services officials.

In a similar case last year, the parents of 13-year-old Hodgkin's disease patient Katie Wernecke won the right in November to make all her medical decisions after a court fight with Texas child welfare officials. Doctors had recommended chemotherapy and radiation; her father favored a program of intravenous vitamin C.

from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Hodgkin lymphoma is now considered to be one of the most curable forms of cancer. Many patients with Hodgkin lymphoma are cured after initial treatment. For the smaller number of patients who may have a recurrence of the disease or a relapse, re-treatment with chemotherapy is often successful.

The five-year relative survival rate for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma has increased from 73 percent in 1975-1977 to 86 percent in 1996-2002.

Hodgkin lymphoma is usually treated chemotherapy and "involved" field radiation today.