blog.bioethics.net

I'm not convinced that chemo is that efficacious for him. An 85% success rate means a 15% failure rate. It was apparently very toxic when he had it before and it didn't do the trick. "Another round, at higher doses, 'would kill me, literally. No joke about it,' Abraham says. 'The first round of chemo almost killed me in itself. There were some nights I didn't know if I would make it.'"
It appears that he and his family accept that their alternative therapy may not work. They haven't been deceived by false promises, they have simply decided against further chemo of the kind he has had, and frankly, given his description of what it was like, I can't say I wouldn't do the same thing.

- by Laura(southernxyl) on Jul 15, 2006 at 2:44 PM | link

Does this two sentence post reflect some inner turmoil perhaps? First we read that Abraham "seems very mature." But then we are told that he is "still strongly under his parents influence when it comes to attitudes about standard medical care."
What evidence supports that description of parental influence? I don't see it here, and that didn't come through when I read the linked article.
That statement reflects someone's attitude, to be sure. It's not clear to me that it's the family's attitude, however.
I was struck by the mother's comment at the end of the linked article: "I'd much rather him have quality of life."
It's not at all clear to me that courts, physicians, or bioethicists are better qualified to assess Abraham's quality of life than Abraham himself.
To me this issue results mainly from our cultural concept that maturity is based only upon a particular birthday.
--

- by etbnc on Jul 16, 2006 at 4:45 PM | link

How soon till his 18th birthday where this will become a non-issue? Seems kind of silly to think he cannot make a good decision today but can within the year. This is a personal decisions and as long as he has all of the information, so be it. We allow people to make "bad" decisions all of the time. Since he is convinced further treatment would kill him, his attitude is certainly not going to work toward cure.

- by Sheila on Jul 17, 2006 at 11:48 AM | link

Correction on the 85% cure rate. That was at first. He only has a 25% chance of coming through the chemo this time. Yes that means that there is a 75% chance this chemo round will kill him. Seems to me that a person should be able to choose their own physician and which care they wish.

- by Roger West on Jul 17, 2006 at 9:04 PM | link

I know the Cherrix family personally as I live fifteen minutes from them and have watched Abraham grow up. Abraham is not a child. He knows what he is doing. He wants to live life at its fullest and it's not by going through all this beauracratic crap. I have been following his alternative treatment and I truly believe that this is the better route than chemo. Abraham tried chemo, it didn't cure him and just about killed him, and he refuses it. Of course, the state of Virginia has to get into it and make their lives a living hell. Please, leave Abraham alone and let him live a full life. It's his only chance to survive. Chemo isn't the solution. I talked to his mother this morning and she said she hasn't heard the verdict yet. She said that Abraham was doing well and holding up. Such a brave young man full of convictions that show what a remarkable person he is. The Cherrix family is full of love and they will get through this.

- by Dorothy on Jul 19, 2006 at 12:43 AM | link

Although not openly advertised or publicized for whatever reason, I know of many individuals who have overcome cancer and serious illnesses by ways of altering their diet and lifestyle. Just because the many physicians do not sell the idea of nutrition as of way of healing does not mean that it is any less powerful or effective. Furthermore, the government has no right to jump into individuals personal decisions about their own health-- I could understand if Abraham was only a child but he is not and is more than able to make informed decisions about his life.

- by Pauline on Jul 19, 2006 at 12:28 PM | link

I disagree that he can make that decision by himself. Even eighteen-year-olds, while emancipated by law, still have that invincible sense of "nothing can touch me," and especially with such a highly-treatable disease, it really seems to be a waste of a life.
Also, for his allegations that chemo almost killed him, I would prefer doctor-based statistics on that. Chemo is a well-documented as very harsh treatment. It kills ALL rapidly dividing cells in his body so naturally it knocks everybody for a loop. I'm not saying that he is lying or exaggerating, but is there any evidence (aside from Cherrix's word) that his reaction was any worse than expected?
In addition, I don't deny that altering a diet or lifestyle can help or cure horrible illnesses, but I think it's a waste when you can do so much more that is generally regarded as more effective, particularly in Cherrix's case when the cancer is still reported to be there and growing.

- by Lilly on Jul 20, 2006 at 1:52 AM | link

I went through same thing and know what Abraham is going through. It is not easy, but if you keep pressing CPS and catch them when they are lying and turn it around on them to make them look bad. Hang in there Abraham. Just remember you have the power to say NO!

- by Katie on Jul 20, 2006 at 8:37 PM | link

After what Abraham has gone through, I doubt seriously that he still thinks nothing can touch him. Actually, he may never have thought that. I never did.

- by Laura(southernxyl) on Jul 20, 2006 at 11:01 PM | link

It's amazing to me how many people are willing to believe that there is an herbs and diet based cure for cancer that the legions of highly trained oncologists in the world simply overlook or deliberately hide. The Hoxsey method, which is the treatment Mr. Cherrix is using in Mexico, DOES NOT WORK. It's been around for 80 years, and we know this to be a fact. Mr. Hoxsey was prosecuted as a fraud and his treatment banned in the United States for this very reason.
I think one of the main problems is that modern medical science requires honesty. A clinical oncologist is required by law and his/her own strict code of ethics to honestly tell you what the prognosis is. They told Mr. Cherrix he only has a 25% chance of survival.
Contrast that with a snake-oil salesman in Mexico, who has probably has no legal obligation to the truth at all. The "doctors" at the clinic there probably told Abraham that they can cure him, and do it without using very unpleasant chemotherapies.
If Abraham said he just wanted to live out the rest of his short life and die comfortably, without chemo, I think the courts would respect his opinion. It's the fact that he and his parents are clearly being fooled by a quack that has the courts reluctant to force the state to relinquish custody.
This case has a lot of complex and important legal aspects that should be debated and sorted through, but one thing should be clear: if Mr. Cherrix doesn't have chemotherapy, the Hoxsey method of herbs and diet will not cure him.

- by Sanjait on Jul 20, 2006 at 11:23 PM | link

Sanjait, it sounds as if you have never met, talked to, or seen medical records from oncologists and hospitals "in the US" that show people having cancer, not having chemo or radiation, using Hoxsey or other alternative methods, and then the eventual disappearance of the cancer and that being up to tens of years they have been cancer free. I have. Actually the courts could not prove that Harry Hoxsey was not curing cancer. They had medical records and the people themselves that showed they were. In fact after all they tried to do to him, he sued the AMA for liable and WON in the Supreme Court. The very person who took the clinic to Mexico was a nurse who went to work for him in Texas to prove he was a fraud. She knew by working there she could get into the records and observe the patients then uncover his scheme. She found instead that he was doing exactly as he said he was and ended up taking his clinic to Mexico and running it.
Many people have died from chemo. The way that the "cure" rate is measured in the US is based on 5 years from the date of diagnosis. If a person's cancer returns one day after the 5 yr. mark then they are still considered cured. Doesn't make sense.
I feel sorry for the people who cannot meet and see the beautiful people who are living cancer free, healthy lives today without going through the horror of chemo and radiation. I also feel sorry for the people who cannot open their hearts and souls to those people and the natural way. They must be so insecure and afraid for them not to be able to go outside the circle of the conventional methods.
There are people who live and die in both situations. If God saw that it was my time to go then it would not matter which method I chose, I would die.
I think that encouragement and support to keep a positive attitude and a strong spiritual belief is what every patient needs. Too bad some people can't seem to reach inside of them and put supportive encouraging words out there to make someone, especially a 16 yr old, feel better. My words to you Abraham Cherrix if you are reading this, is to be strong and stay firm in your beliefs. You are an amazing young man and admired by many.

- by Roger West on Jul 21, 2006 at 9:42 AM | link

I don't see the Cherrix case as a conventional medicine v. alternative med debate at all. It's pretty clear the scientific evidence broadly sides with conventional medicine. Though, even efficacy statistics cannot predict a specific outcome for Cherrix.
The debate here, it seems, is - when the outcome is unclear - when the right action is uncertain - who decides the course of action? This point is somewhat obscured by the minor status of Cherrix - hence the parental neglect charges.
Let's concede that he is heavily influenced by his parents - seems reasonable to expect most kids would be, in stable families. It doesn't follow that this influence is in the wrong, necessarily. If Cherrix doesn't survive, then the outcome will, to a degree, be secondary to independent choice of a family unit - as well as if he does survive. Seems a reasonable place for the responsibility to reside - as they have been liable all along for the welfare of their children.
From the State's side - I'm not clear on how it is they expect to administer chemo to a 16 y/o who clearly is opposed to it. Strap him to a gurney??? Threaten the parents with incarceration unless they convince him to submit??? Incarcerate Cherrix himself for noncompliance??? And, having taken any or all of these actions - if he doesn't survive - where are they then? Liable - I would suspect.
The central issue is belief - and do we have rational grounds for our beliefs. When the state compels beliefs - well, that is certainly an issue. Pacal, in his famous "The Wager," an equation for the efficacy for the individual belief in God, basically holds that to believe in God puts you in a much better position whether he exists or not - if he exists, eternal life - if he doesn't, you haven't lost anything. It's a flawed argument.
Much as the State's argument is flawed in this case. They have no resources available to counter the belief of this family - and frankly, they have no good pragmatic resouces to execute their will aside from tying the kid down or to start jailing people. Much like belief in God - the State is basically saying, "The odds are on our side - you should believe as we do," without any particular evidence that that is the case for Cherrix specifically.
Child Services and the Judge have been severely shortsighted in their desire to get the family to see things the "right" way.
Most thinkers have concluded that choice, or individual freedom of belief, is preferable to a compelled life.

- by Scott on Jul 21, 2006 at 1:10 PM | link

I am posting this to refute Sanjait.
Why has this been around for 80 years? BECAUSE IT WORKS SOMETIMES. If it never worked, it wouldn't be an option. Dead people don't suggest going to Mexico. Dead people's relatives don't suggest Mexico. SURVIVORS suggest Mexico.
With an argument, you can't use "probably". Such as, "Contrast that with a snake-oil salesman in Mexico, who has PROBABLY has no legal obligation to the truth at all." You don't know this. This is your opinion. Maybe they are ethical there. And I agree they might not be but you just assume because it is in Mexico.
You think that the courts would allow a 15 year old to just die? Absolteuly not- the whole point of this case if they are trying to force him to accept chemo. This family knows the risks and have left the decision up to Abe. You think Abe is going to go through chemo? No. If he doesn't want to, it's not gonna happen. The only way is to knock him out and give him the treatment before he awakes. Then, they will have to put him in a padded room so he won't kill himself because he feels so bad. Then, the gov't will say he is insane and keep him locked up forever.
Do you have any experience with cancer and its effects? No

- by brent on Jul 21, 2006 at 4:51 PM | link

It is a fact that over 80% of the oncologist interviewed that they WOULD NOT take their own treatment...meaning chemo poisoning or radiation -- (which the real success rate is actually less than 6% and 13%, respectively) The only thing an oncologist has to be honest about by law is to support only methods that are FDA approved drugs and therapies as well has also following AMA guideines. One would have to be completley ignorant to believe that these organizations care more about an individual's health than about the volumes of money that can be made from treating cancer and now also heart disease.
I know several individuals within the legal system who use alternative health treatments, including those for cancer. Attorneys are some of the best researchers on the planet...as well as logical thinkers and many are not using "Modern Medicine"...because the logic is not there for those types of treatments.
The body is not "chemically" driven...in fact, the amount of chemicals that we take in from our food, water, air quality, inhaling fumes,cleaners, sprays, and yes, even pharmaceutical drugs is all contributing to the body's inability to combat dis-ease. The chemicals have to stop. The FDA makes no money on anything natural and so will never endorse anything that works in this manner, hence, no Medical Doctor will endorse it either.
Does it make sense if a pond is poluted by chemicals to dump more chemicals into it? The same is true with our body's. In a very basic analogy, you clean out the scum and don't put anymore back into it!
Abraham Cherrix is a mighty person, with wisdon far beyond the puny-minded Doctor's that are treating him, and as well all the other clowns in the court system that oppose his choice. If he was a female, he would be old enough to make the decision to abort his own baby...right? Is this not a medical treatment?
It is time for this nation to open their eyes. We have become passive to our own healthcare and taking care of our own body's and now we are paying the price.
If I were a friend or family of Abraham Cherrix, I would be most honored to know him. It is rare to meet someone who stands up for themselves and knows the truth that they must follow for themselves.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO to all of those that stand in the way of truth!

- by Emjae on Jul 21, 2006 at 6:05 PM | link

The issue should not be about whether the "prescribed" treatment will work or not. The issue here is about INDIVIDUAL CHOICE!
Once the state starts making decisions for us, we are no longer free and we no longer live in a democracy.
Say NO WAY to nanny-states!

- by Kat on Jul 21, 2006 at 11:59 PM | link

The issue should not be about whether the "prescribed" treatment will work or not. This issue is about individual choice.
Once the state becomes involved and starts making our choices for us, we are no longer free, and we no longer live in a democracy.
Say NO to nanny-statehood!!

- by Kat on Jul 22, 2006 at 12:03 AM | link

I have followed this case with great interest, as I support a patients right to choose his own treatment methods, and I use natural healing methods myself, and know many others that do. However, the major reason I followed this case is my ex wife and 4 of my children live in Accomack County, and am very surprised that the social services department would take such action in this case, where Abraham is well cared for, loved, home schooled (which is no easy task) and may I point out that alternative medicine is not covered by insurance, and not cheap, so they are obviously paying for that. In contrast, my own children live in a drug ridden household with frequent domestic violence, every child failed school for non attendance in the last school year, and they reside with a man convicted recently of soliciting children for sex and indecent exposure. However, they find my case is not appropriate for action. I have just read the judges decision in this case, and send my best wishes and regrets to the Cherrix family!

- by scruffydog on Jul 22, 2006 at 12:07 AM | link

All I can say is that I would give anything (perhaps it is a sign) for you to email me back so that I can honestly tell you what I think without anyone (government, parent, whatever)trying to talk you out of it.

- by Hunter Mackin (Rachael Gentry) on Jul 22, 2006 at 2:59 AM | link

I agree Emjae. This situation is a 'showdown'
between the hypnotized medical community, who have not taken the time to look for alternative choices for their patients, but who must make money for those who paid for their training institutions: It's a 'business with disease.' and it is widely documented as such. The FDA is currently being sued for not doing it's job by an activist group. Anyone can get on the mailing list of these activism groups, and learn much about how sold out this government, Congress and the agencies, are to the lobbyists for food, drug and medical industries.
Check out http://www.thinkscapes.com
I learned a lot from every page.
Peace and Love

- by peeznluv on Jul 22, 2006 at 9:09 AM | link

I think the entire matter is deeply sorrowful.
First of all, if the treatment for Hodgkins at this late date were 90% effective then I can see a case for health care (physicians, nurses, medical social workers and psychologists) to intensively counsel the family as to how the choice could be made to tailor both chemo and drugs which can help to ameliorate some of the more unpleasant symptoms of chemo. I don't know where the initial treatments were given, but at a major medical center, a plan would be made to help to keep the patients discomfort level in check and his head on the treatment track. This is usually possible. His parents would also be counselled in order to be able to remain a support to him. I suspect that none of the patient support or family support activities were undertaken competently. It may be that a desire to embrace an unproven treatment was borne, at least initially, of the medical systems failure to properly support this family.
After the family was supported and Abraham and his family elected to try something new, and they understand and accept that this choice alone may well limit his ultimate life expectancy, then this was no ones business. Accomack County's choice to force chemo which the patient feels hasn't worked before on a child/man who doesn't want it, takes self determination from a man who might never see 18. If there is no real promise or expectation of a cure, then the matter should not be forced. Secondly, the parents, in this case, have raised a remarkable and articulate young man. The parents should have dominion over the child in law until he reaches 18. Doing anything less is to simply issue an edict that says that "all children belong to the state, and that parents are simply rental agents in blue sky periods."
Accomack County has its share of those who cigarette burn, starve, sexually abuse, and drug expose children. Perhaps they could spend their limited funds on a truly dysfunctional family rather than the Cherrix Family.
I would have preferred to personally locate and find a conventional treatment program for Abraham which would have married conventional treatment and the organic and alternative approaches in which he and his family believe. This should have been the option here. The point is that the medical system failed him, and Accomack Child Protective Services did. His parents did not.

- by Christine on Jul 22, 2006 at 10:39 AM | link

In the state of Virginia they are trying and sentencing teens as young as 14 as adults and sending them to adult prison; when they are waived up as an adult their parents lose the right to make the decision for their child; the teen is suddenly required to make adult decisions about his defense, his sentencing, his Miranda Rights, a plea, etc. then WHY OH WHY ISN'T ABRAHAM ALLOWED MAKE THE DECISION ON THE MEDICAL TREATMENT HE RECEIVES?
To me this entire case is violation of our freedom of choice - Many adults have refused the second round of chemotherapy - why can't he?

- by patricia on Jul 22, 2006 at 1:39 PM | link

Doesn't this all come down to a reasonableness test? If the boy is not capable of making his own decisions (which at his age and experience level you'd have to argue he's, say, 90% of the way there), then the burden falls on the parents.
The question is, are they behaving in a reasonable manner by pursuing alternatives to that which he has already tried and failed and vehemently refuses to go thru again knowing that he is facing a good chance of dying?
I think the answer is clear, that the state is being overly paternalistic and biased toward mainstream medicine.

- by Rosalie on Jul 22, 2006 at 2:03 PM | link

Excerpted from http://www.newstarget.com/019617.html
This was written by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger.
--------
Across the nation, an increasing number of families are having their lives destroyed by the greed and arrogance of conventional medicine and its toxic cancer treatments. Families are arrested at gunpoint, jailed, prosecuted and separated from their children by Child Protective Services, all due to the demands of arrogant doctors who insist on treating cancer with conventional chemotherapy that's so toxic, it almost kills the patient before killing the cancer cells.
Conventional medicine is so desperate to push its high-profit services onto patients that it now resorts to kidnapping children and incarcerating parents in order to enforce its "authority" over all health care decisions. But some parents are wising up, and they're fleeing conventional cancer treatment centers to seek safer, more natural alternative treatments elsewhere. That's where this story begins.
Another case of "Gunpoint Medicine" fiasco emerged this week as Abraham Cherrix, a 16-year-old Hodgkin's disease sufferer, decided he didn't want a second round of chemotherapy. The first round nearly killed him, leaving him so frail and weak that he couldn't walk. With the support of his parents, Abraham began to educate himself about alternative cancer treatments, telling his oncologist he did not wish to experience any more chemotherapy.
As he explains, "This is my body that I'm supposed to take care of. I should have the right to tell someone what I want to do with this body. I studied. I did research. I came to this conclusion that the chemotherapy was not the route I wanted to take."
Arrogant doctors insist on poisoning children, but freedom of choice is not allowed by the quack doctors of conventional medicine. As always happens in these cases, the doctor was apparently so enraged by the idea that any patient would not want to submit to his authority that he called the county social services which promptly had the parents arrested and acquired joint custody over the teen. Social services Gestapo members are now in court arguing that the state should force the teen to undergo yet more chemotherapy, as demanded by his doctor.
A judge will now decide Abraham's fate. If the judge orders him back to chemotherapy, Abraham and his family will then become fugitives merely for making their own informed decisions about which type of cancer treatment they wish to pursue. Armed agents will hunt down the family, and Abraham will be effectively forced to undergo chemotherapy at gunpoint. Hence the term, "Gunpoint Medicine."
Conventional medicine's body count
The state, it seems, will used the threat of deadly force to market conventional medicine's chemotherapy treatments. It is difficult to imagine a more authoritarian and tyrannical system of medicine than what we have today in the United States. Just as the Bush Administration unlawfully detains and tortures prisoners in Guantanamo (which the U.S. Supreme Court has recently ruled as blatantly illegal), the U.S. medical system will also use men with firearms to detain and torture patients with treatments that may kill them. As Abraham explains, "Another round [of chemotherapy] would kill me, literally. No joke about it. The first round of chemo almost killed me in itself. There were some nights I didn't know if I would make it."
Conventional medicine is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Doctors and their drugs kill more Americans each year than died in the entire Vietnam War. FDA-approved pharmaceuticals kill more Americans each month than were killed by terrorists in the 9/11 attacks. Read Death By Medicine to get the statistics.
And yet, despite there remarkable safety lapses, ignorant doctors continue to insist that alternatives are so dangerous that parents who seek them should be charged with negligence!
Cancer industry lies and Hoxsey's natural cancer treatments
The treatment being sought out by Abraham is the Hoxsey treatment. Widely ridiculed by the American Cancer Society (which has strong ties to chemotherapy drug companies) and the FDA (which routinely promotes Big Pharma and discredits alternatives), the history of Harry Hoxsey and his cancer therapies is a fascinating tour of the oppression, censorship and outright intimidation of conventional medicine when it comes to controlling the medical marketplace.
Hoxsey's anti-cancer salves, based entirely on botanicals that we now know contain powerful anti-cancer compounds, actually work very well on cancer, as health authorities grudgingly admitted in court proceedings against Hoxsey decades ago. But that didn't stop them from attacking Hoxsey as a quack, discrediting his work, having him arrested and raiding his cancer treatment clinics on multiple occasions. This is why Hoxsey eventually moved his clinic to Mexico -- a country where health freedoms are still respected, unlike in the United States. Read more about Harry Hoxsey and the history of medical oppression in our article, What the American Medical Association hopes you never learn about its true history.
The U.S. is the single most oppressive health regime in the world, where prescription drugs are sold at the highest prices in the world under a monopoly-controlled drug racket enforced by the FDA. Highly corrupt regulators and non-profit disease organizations routinely attack alternative treatments, even as most of their own members are on the take from pharmaceutical companies. The degree of corruption and fraud in U.S. medicine is unprecedented in industrialized nations.
The FDA, for its part, routinely engages in tactics of oppression and tyranny. It once ordered the destruction of recipe books about stevia, a natural herbal sweetener. The FDA has also organized and conducted multiple armed, SWAT-style raids against health clinics, vitamin shops and even a pet food store. Once, the FDA raided a church and confiscated literally tons of church literature that helped people with mental health issues. Senior citizens returning from Canada were also detained and searched for legal drugs that they purchased at discounts across the Canadian border. Again and again, the FDA and the quack promoters of conventional medicine resort to the use of firearms (or the threat of using them) to enforce our modern system of monopoly medicine. It is exactly as if conventional medicine had declared war on the American people.
As more parents are becoming educated about the dangers of chemotherapy and radiation (treatments that do absolutely nothing to address the underlying causes of cancer, by the way), they are increasingly seeking safer, more natural treatments across the United States and other countries. Cures for cancer do exist, and in fact they are quite numerous and well documented outside the corrupt, tyrannical system of American medicine. But in America, health authorities refuse to acknowledge their existence, and they continue to incarcerate anyone who dares to refuse Big Pharma's toxic chemicals.
Remember: The cancer industry is a billion-dollar commercial enterprise. Cancer is so profitable to drug companies, clinics, oncologists and hospitals that acknowledging a cure for cancer would be devastating to the U.S. economy. With twenty cents of every dollar spent by our government now going to cover health care costs, our nation has, indeed, become economically invested in the continuation of disease. Cancer is too profitable to prevent or cure, which is why the quack promoters of the cancer industry don't teach prevention or cures! They refuse to even acknowledge the ability of simple nutrients like vitamin D to slash rates of some cancers by an astounding fifty percent!
Parents: How to protect yourself from conventional medicine's tyranny
It is now clear that that only way for parents to exercise their health freedom and choose the treatments they believe are best suited for their children is to avoid taking your children to conventional medical doctors and seek naturopathic physicians instead.
Why? Because just one doctor, enraged at the parents' critical thinking about the failures of conventional medicine, can call Child Protective Services and have any parent charged with neglect so that their children are stolen from them by the state. It only takes one phone call from an arrogant doctor, and your entire family can be labeled fugitives.
The solution, then, is to avoid conventional doctors in the first place and seek primary care from naturopathic physicians who understand both conventional and alternative treatments. It's not only good for your health freedom, it's good for your health, as naturopaths actually understand nutrition and the role of the patient in the healing process (conventional MDs receive no formal education in nutrition at all). Plus, no naturopath would ever invoke neglect laws to have your children stolen from you by the state.
When will the tyranny end?
In the case of Abraham Cherrix, a judge now has the opportunity to establish a health freedom precedent and rule that parents should be able to seek alternative treatments for their children. A decision is expected within days.
Should the judge order Abraham back to the toxic chemotherapy treatments, it will just be business as usual in the United States of America, where no freedom ever gets in the way of commercial interests. The U.S. is increasingly positioned as the most intolerant nation in the world. We don't tolerate other forms of government, other religions, or even other systems of medicine. And if you don't wave the American flag, support the invasion of other nations and take your daily medications in this country, you're either labeled a traitor or a fugitive; and if you have children, they will be stolen from you by the state.
When will the tyranny end?

- by Morland on Jul 22, 2006 at 3:47 PM | link

I think Abraham and his parents have the right to refuse chemotherapy.

- by Paul Obis on Jul 22, 2006 at 6:08 PM | link

LOOK PEOPLE, MANY OF YOU HAVE NOT STUDIED 'ALTRNATIVE; MEDICINE. IT CAN WORK AND HAS FOR MILLIONS. GIVE YOURSELF SOME EDUCATION, AND STOP TRYING TO ASUME YOU ALREADY KNOW EVERYTHING THAT IS BEST HERE. ABRAHAM HAS THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE! GOD GAVE US RIGHTS, AND IF WE MAKE THE WRONG CHOICES , THEN WE SUFFER. BUT NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO TAKE ANOTHERS RIGHTS AWAY FROM HIM. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT ONLY ABRAHAM KNOWS AND WENT THROUGH FOR HIMSELF. ALLOW HIM , ( IF I MUST SAY "ALLOW" )TO CHOOSE.

- by MAGGIE on Jul 22, 2006 at 6:11 PM | link

I am appalled by the quackery believers here and want to voice a diferent opinion. As far as I am concerned, the parents of Abraham are the moral equivalent of murderers.
Please US courts, make this poor boy do the chemo. As soon as he is an adult, he can do a moon dance instead of chemo and commit suicide along those lines, but right now he can still be saved...

- by Robert on Jul 22, 2006 at 7:00 PM | link

bottom line- its his body- he has a right to choose his treatment. i mean, really, i cant believe this is even a question. freaky government we have... this country is really starting to scare me.

- by monique on Jul 22, 2006 at 7:04 PM | link

I am writing this in response to an Accociated Press article about Abraham Cherrix that I just read. It was written by Sonja Barisic 21Jul06. I hope it in some way helps Abraham, his family, his support group and everyone who in the future finds themselves in the same position.
Recently, I conducted research about the relationship of modern medicine to overall health. I wanted to determine if there were an overall effect. The findings surprised me as they are contrary to everything I have been taught. I call the paper, MODERN MEDICINE: AN ILLUSION. You may read the pdf at http://www.GoodSamIAm.com/SSE-2006-Paper.pdf
I presented my research in a scientific paper before fellow scientists at our Jun06 annual meeting of the Society For Scientific Exploration (SSE). I have now exposed the research to almost 300 scientists and so far not one has expressed fault with the research and data, though there were a number of allopathic professionals in the audience who could have.
In my research I tried to find some, any, support that allopathy contributes more positives than negatives to overall health. I could find none. I tried to find papers explaining the theory of allopathy but I do not think there are any. It may be because everything shows allopathy contributes more negatives than positives to our overall health. That could explain why no one in the industry has published their findings. The allopathic exceptions are compassionate doctors, nurses, their staffs, field workers and and competent trauma care workers.
The state of Virginia is threatening the worst possible things to Abraham's health. It is trying to take away his control of his own well being, it is challenging his belief in his own choice of healing necessary for any healing system to work, it is creating fear and stress but no compassion.
While clinical testing may show chemo and radiation appear to be better than a placebo I suspect there is no data that when they are taken for Hodgkin's Disease they contribute more positives than negatives to overall health.
My paper is understandable and I hope you will like it. There is hope, as you will see.

- by KC on Jul 22, 2006 at 10:22 PM | link

What RIGHT does a judge have to play God?
If the FORCED treatment fails in any way shape or form, WHO holds the judge accountable for his/her decision? All the current articles I've read so far seem to "choose" to leave out this judge's name. How cowardly is that? Alternative medicines DO WORK. THEY DO HAVE EMPIRICAL DATA TO SUPPORT THIS! The friggin' A.M.E. powermongers CHOOSE to force their own controlled studies.
This is absolutely heinous. It makes me positively sick to see this country errode into the totalitarian state it's swiftly becoming.
Efficacious my ass! It's all TOXIC.

- by David P Beavers on Jul 22, 2006 at 11:29 PM | link

I am a 16 year old girl from Virginia Beach. I am not a cancer patient, but I do know one thing: The government has absolutely no right to tell us what to do or what not to do with our own bodies. The only one who can is God. It's because he is under 18 that he is being forced to endure this appalling treatment. Does the government think we teenagers are otherwise incapable of making our own decisions? Are we going to destroy ourselves if we do? No. I have not met Abraham, but I cried when I saw on the news the ruling in the case. I was nothing short of livid. This is an articulate, intelligent young man who should NOT be denied his God-given rights. I offer a prayer for him. As a fellow teenager, I will fight for his rights. For all of our rights. So yes, Abraham Cherrix, I am SO on your side.
As for the judge who ruled in this case... I feel bad when I say this, but it is well deserved: I hope he comes down with Hodgkin's. And I hope the chemo makes him so sick he can't walk. I wish it upon him so badly.
And my note to Abraham: Live through this. Please please, god PLEASE live through this. I want you to fight them with all you've got. And when you do, I am going to meet you. And when I do, I will shake your hand, maybe even hug you, and say "Thank you on behalf of all of us who are smart enough to think for ourselves."
But I digress. I don't like thinking about it, 'cause it gives me the chills, but if you don't make it, I'll thank you anyway. And the stupid state will probably name a high school after you. :) Either way, I will remember you. We will all remember you, regardless of the outcome.
My best to not only Abraham, but anyone else who has ever endured injustice such as this.
Love,
Kristianna
*wow, I just realised how mad i am about this.*

- by Kristianna on Jul 23, 2006 at 2:40 AM | link

I would ask the court why it is a teenager can have there unborn baby KILLED without there parents permission but can't decide there own treatment for cancer!

- by Andy Miller on Jul 23, 2006 at 3:19 AM | link

It is, I think, time we recognize the fact that we live in a fascist police state. We can no longer deny the facts, and kid ourselves. The rhetoric about "freedom" is nothing more than marketing hype and pure fiction. We should immediately make sure our paperz are in order and begin practicing our seig heils (or hiel Bush or heil Clinton or heil McCain or whoever is given the nod next). It is over. Concentration camps are coming soon. These are just the signs of things to come.

- by Jozef Svejk on Jul 23, 2006 at 12:11 PM | link

I have had the opportunity to put a cancer patient in touch with a cancer survivor where the outcome was that the patient learned of the survivor's cancer defeating therapy, followed a similar regimen and was also cured. I would like to offer the same referral to the Abraham Cherrix. Don't suppose anyone here knows how to contact that family. If so please let me know. An e-mail address would be the least invasive way to offer this helping hand I suppose.

- by Richard on Jul 23, 2006 at 1:57 PM | link

Amen Andy Miller. Amen.

- by Josiah Coughran on Jul 23, 2006 at 5:33 PM | link

I think this young man should “run away” and perhaps keep in secret contact with his parents so his parents can financially help him to get alternative treatment. Then he could avoid this life-threatening court-ordered madness. I tell you if it were me, by hook or by crook, if I had to live in an abandoned building or beg on the street, I would NOT submit to this crap. And he should “run away” as soon as possible, too, before the cops come and shackle him up and haul him to the doctor’s office. If he and his family make a stand like this, then perhaps the system will think twice before trying to force someone else into something like this. This is a litmus test to see how the public will react. The system doesn’t want thousands of dead kids on their hands becauase the kids lived on the street to get away from forced treatment. If Abraham and his family refuse to submit at any cost, the system will most likely back off in the future and realize that we are NOT going to put up with this!

- by Dubsiren on Jul 23, 2006 at 5:46 PM | link

Robert says "right now he can still be saved..." Yeah, if he's among the magic 85%, he will be living in 5 years. Which does not imply anything about the state of his health in 5 years, or his life expectancy after that. If he's in the unfortunate 15%, he won't, and he will have endured the horrific side effects of chemo during what was left of his short life.
Andy Miller ... me too.

- by Laura(southernxyl) on Jul 23, 2006 at 5:49 PM | link

This case and the comment are very interesting. Many insightful thoughts and information.
I'm not going to comment about the traditional v. alternative medicine routes. That's a personal decision.
What frightens me about this case is the state's actions and the precedent it sets for other states to step in and usurp an individual's right or parental rights.
Abraham's case is the second such one I've read about in the past month - the other being Baby Riley's forced treatment in Seattle.
I am glad there are families such as Abraham's who are fighting this government instrusion into a very personal and private area of their lives. I wish and hope the best for them.

- by Susan on Jul 24, 2006 at 7:46 PM | link

One more comment - if this forced treatment goes through (and I sure hope it doesn't), I hope that the great Commonwealth of Virginia pays for it. I know, if I were the parents, I'd refuse to pay one red cent toward it.

- by Susan on Jul 24, 2006 at 7:51 PM | link

I was born under the Hitler rule, lived under Stalin and Brezhnev. Even then these dictators did NOT force people to take treatments that were against the patient/patient parent’s choice. It is the most shameful to see the government knowing better. And yet we here are the least healthy of the 30 most industrialized nations. Medical errors kill 300,000 people a year. And we pay for it more than any other country in the world.
Cancer in other countries is being CURED every day. Cancer is a business here and as such will never be cured. Let’s remove the profit motive from cancer “treatments” and will see how fast the need for chemo will last. It is high time for the Americans to take back their health from the medical industry and force the government out of our private lives.

- by Andre Kulisz on Jul 25, 2006 at 2:36 AM | link

"A juvenile court judge ruled Friday that Cherrix must go to Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk for evaluation, and ordered his parents to give legal consent for treatment."
There's the clincher: the parents are required to give legal consent. Is that coercion or duress? Isn't that illegal?
The Judge is attempting to put the responsibility for his own decision and beliefs onto Abraham's parents? The Judge can (try to) force Abraham and his family to submit to chemotherapy but is refusing to take responsibility for his own choice. So when the chemotherapy kills Abraham, the Judge can say, "Abraham's parents gave their permission."
Legal definition: Coersion: "intimidation of a victim to compel the individual to do some act against his or her will by the use of psychological pressure, physical force, or threats. Coercion, as an element of duress, is grounds for seeking the rescission or cancellation of a contract or deed. When one party to an instrument is forced against his or her will to agree to its terms the document can be declared void by a court."
Good Luck to Abraham and his family. Good luck to us all if the Judicial System in this country can get away with this.

- by Victoria on Jul 25, 2006 at 4:49 AM | link

Here is Judge Demps' address and phone number.
Write and/or call him and let him know how you feel:
Jesse Edgar Demps
430 Crawford St. Ste. 400
P.O. Box 1392
Portsmouth VA 23705
(757)399-5514

- by Bob McAdams on Jul 25, 2006 at 6:11 AM | link

It's a shame that the same parents who are held responsible for a child's wellbeing and would end up in jail if they failed in that are now being pushed aside by the government.
The judge hides behind juvenile cases being sealed. CPS hides behind privacy laws. Who is going to step forward and explain to "we the people" what right they have to do this and who will be responsible for the consequences? Sure the voters can vote the judge out - if they find out who he is - but what will Abraham's condition be by then?
The abortion analogy is appropriate - and the girl nor the state have to tell the parents. When did we start enforcing parental responsibility while at the same time removing the parental authority!?!
All I can say is that if someone came to take my 16 year old away and force him to poison his body under restraint I'm afraid they'd meet my friends, Smith and Wesson. They'd have to shoot me to do that to my kid and it disgusts me to think that they would even try.

- by Jim Sewell on Jul 25, 2006 at 11:50 AM | link

What a sad world this has become where a medical Gestapo can actually force a person under the age of 18 to pump poison into his body agaist his will. I would hop a plane to Mexico rather than be forced by some arrogant doctors to submit to their "treatments". I have personally met a woman who totally beat throat cancer WITHOUT any drugs or surgery.I have spoken at length with her and her husband regarding the type of diet and suppliments she took as well as other lifestyle changes which ultimately led to her cure.It is not a fantasy. People can cure themselves of disease naturally, without drugs or surgury. I hope Abraham does not give in and fights to preserve his God given right to decide what treatment he wants.

- by carlo on Jul 25, 2006 at 2:58 PM | link

It's really sad to put Cherrix through any more.I say let him choose his treatment.He is in sound mind.I wish the best for him and his family.

- by Susan on Jul 25, 2006 at 9:20 PM | link

I say let Mr.Cherrix choose his own treatment.He seens to be in sound mind.I hope the best for him and his family.

- by Susan on Jul 25, 2006 at 9:23 PM | link

A sixteen year old girl can have an abortion "becasue it's her body," but a sixteen year old boy can be forced by the state to pump drugs that have a 75% of killing him into his body. There's something wrong with this picture. If it's your body, it's your body. If you say no. It means no. Why has the right to say no been taken away from Abraham?

- by Gayle Schreiber on Jul 26, 2006 at 1:18 AM | link

The Cherixx Family has a repreive.
Judge lifts order requiring treatment for teen with cancer
By ELIZABETH SIMPSON, The Virginian-Pilot© July 25, 2006
ACCOMAC - A 16-year-old Chincoteague boy with Hodgkin's disease will not have to resume conventional cancer treatment while another court hears his case.
Accomack County Circuit Court Judge Glen Tyler on Tuesday suspended lower court orders that the parents of Abraham Cherrix take their son to Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk this week and give their consent to whatever treatment the hospital deems necessary.
The judge also returned full custody of Abraham to his parents, pending a Circuit Court trial scheduled for Aug. 16.
-------------------
After reading about this and the biomed article in the most recent Reader's Digest, I'm appalled at our government and how they are playing with our lives and right to decide treatment.
Abraham is a minor and he is under the direct care of his parents (or legal guardian) until the age of 18. If he was in an auto accident today the hospital would only be able to take immediate life saving measures, any other treatement would need to be approved by the parents.
If the government is going to start dictating what treatments we are to receive then what other aspects of our lives will they start to regulate "for our own good"? Diet? Exercise? Career? Hobbies? Living conditions? Modes of transportation we use? This may be an extremist attitude but here's food for thought. One of the initial actions of the Holocaust was to move the Jewish into their own ghetos. Sounded safe and harmless at the time.

- by Anji on Jul 26, 2006 at 3:44 PM | link

I am not a medical doctor, but I am a scientist who has nearly completed a Ph.D. in Science Education. As someone who is knowledgable about the “nature” of science, it disturbs me to see so many doctors giving objective status to their scientific opinions. To say that "this is an especially tough case" is bogus. This is an easy case. Science is a human construction and is not objective. Thus, science is subject to the same imperfections as every other human endeavor. This family has a right to weigh the evidence and decide for themselves what course of action they should take. They are not stupid people. These parents have a right to choose dignity and to reject a medical procedure that could torture to death their 16 year old son, whom they love. I acknowledge that he may die if he pursues alternative treatments, but even if this happens, it is better to die with dignity than to be forced to receive treatment that most intelligent adults, myself included, would reject for themselves.

- by Robert Ruhf on Jul 26, 2006 at 6:15 PM | link

There is only one way to look at this situation. It's no one else's business but Abraham's and his family. This should not be happening. I have had chemo before, I'm a 30 year old woman, not a teen with elevated emotions. I WILL NEVER allow chemo to enter my veins again. This should be Abraham's choice and his alone. Read more about my thoughts at www.crystalmontoya.com.
The only right decision for the court to make is to leave Abraham the hell alone!

- by Crystal Montoya on Jul 28, 2006 at 5:40 PM | link

Please see my website www.crystalmontoya.com for my full opinion regarding this matter.
I've been through chemo - it nearly killed me. No exaggeration. I don't need a medical report to tell me it almost killed me - I know it did.
I will never submit to chemo "treatment" again and this should not even be a question for Abraham.
The state of Virginia needs to back up and leave Abraham and his family alone. The stress and mental anguish they have caused Abraham already is unthinkable and I'm very afraid of what this country is coming to.
Abraham is my hero.

- by Crystal Montoya on Jul 28, 2006 at 6:06 PM | link

Hi All,
Could I please ask Roger Smith to give me the source of his figures for cure rates with a second chemo for Abraham? I believe very strongly that he should have the right to choose, but I would appreciate help with the source.
Many thanks, Sands

- by Sands on Aug 2, 2006 at 12:32 AM | link

To Sands
The source of the 25% chance of coming through the prescribed chemo is from an oncologists that was interviewed on tv and from what I understand was an expert witness at the hearing. Abraham's cancer is under control and under supervision of certified medical physicians. Seems to me that it should be either up to him and if not it should be up to his parents which physicians advice that he chooses. No one has the right to tell someone which physician to choose.

- by Roger West on Aug 3, 2006 at 1:19 AM | link

I don't believe Abraham should be forced to take in that poison (chemo). That's what it is, poison, words that came directly from my Aunts mouth about the next treatment she was going to have to go thru. Until that is, she went to Mexico, and received Layatril (B-17) treatment. They gave her a death sentence here, told her she had two weeks left (this was less then 5 weeks after diagnosed), she made it a year and a half :c). The tumors in her body had died, and the spots across her breast had shrunk 10times in size.... She ended up dieing after an emergency blood transfusion from being enimec(spelling). It rided her body of the B-17 that was subsiding the cancer and she lost the battle...
I don't think this poor 16 year old boy should be forced anything... isn't half the battle believing you can beat it? How can he keep hope when he believes tihs round will kill him? I pray for him, and I truly pray he makes this happen.

- by Jen on Aug 11, 2006 at 12:43 PM | link

Roger,
My reason for wanting to know, is that I had never heard that statistic and I believe as you do. I am on a non-Hodgkins Lymphoma message board and there are many there who feel that chemo is his own possibility of surviving. I'm with you on this. Thanks for the input. Sands

- by Sands on Aug 17, 2006 at 8:17 PM | link

Sands
I know someone who had non hodgkins lymphoma and went through chemo and radiation. A few years later now they have the very side effect that Abraham is trying to avoid...lukemia. A cancer that is a lot harder to treat than hodgkins. This person is now in their second round of chemo and dying. Chemo does do damage after the fact of remission.

- by Roger West on Aug 18, 2006 at 10:32 PM | link

Roger,
My interest in all of this is a person's right to choose...for better or worse. With non-hodgkins, there is a form, follicular, which can be very slow growing, or indolent. So, many newly diagnosed patients will opt to watch and wait...no treatment. But, and this is the big "but," many feel they have to have treatment and opt for heavy duty chemo right away, which limits their options when their disease becomes more aggressive. I am in my 8th year with no treatment since diagnosis. I use some supplements and believe in the benefits of good sleep, exercise, and natural sunshine. It seems as though when newly diagnosed "follicular" patients opt for treatment right away, it is a slippery slope to transplant and many treatments seem to give only short duration remissions. Thanks for your comments, Sands

- by Sands on Aug 20, 2006 at 6:34 PM | link

Keep telling yourselves that scientists are criminals, evil minded individuals that are trying to lie to you.
The state of Virginia was wrong because of people like you. Consider the consequences:
1. Abraham dies. You will blame the horrible medical system and the government. It is their fault for imposing chemo. State loses, kid loses.
2. Abraham lives. You will say it was because of the Hoksey potions. Only the kid will win here. State loses, medical systemloses, but also thousands that will follow the hoax treatment full of hope. Who's going to count them I wonder? Not the Tijuana clinic, who will see their revenues triple.
My mother died of cancer. When she discovered it, she delayed her going to the doctor. The radiation and chemo that followed gave her little hope. She invested a lot of money in a couple of charlatans that claimed their cure is secret, unconventional and it truly cures, and of course the "industry" does not want to you to know it because of their financial interests. Of course nothing helped.
The reporters have done a poor job telling Abraham's story. There is confusion on what he did, when, and which statistics are correct. Is it 85%, is it 25%? Is it for now or after 5 years?
People, please spend more time in science classes and science related events. Cancer KILLS! There is no secret. Yes, naturally, some very few of us, are able to fight it better than others. You will have such instances of cures. But they are not many. The Hoxsey cure is a typical scam, where the hits are counted, but the misses are ignored. That is why few people will swear that it cured them. But you will never get any real, auditable numbers, out of natural medicine, which by the way, also has financial interests, and better yet, they are not regulated by anybody.
Nature kills. We use drugs and we do research to fight nature. We used to die because of tuberculosis, fever, flu, and other stupid diseases. Vaccines have helped and at the time of course some people were refusing the reality of it. The 19th century was still full of charlatans, old habits die hard, and the profession is still among us, with apparently just as good of a pay as before. In the 19th century, a guy named Mesmer, used properties of magnetism to create a show and make people believe it can cure diseases. Scientists have cried foul, but no one wanted to listen. To this day magnet bracelets are sold with claims to cure, even though scientific data proves otherwise.
You get calculated chances and numbers from scientists because they are honest. Scientists do not claim to hold the truth or perfect cures. Scientists will only give the best that they know up to this date. The only promise is the promise to further our knowledge and document facts. There is so much to learn and we continue to refuse careers in science. There are still too few to dedicate their lives to the pursuit of knowledge. But at least over a number of years you can see progress. That is why cancer patients are presented with statistics. No promises, but some quatifiable hope.
I will be happier when people will do more research, insert sources when they quote numbers, and choose carefully who to trust. In this case I really cannot see the logic in mistructing the government. On one side the government, the medical system, major U.S. scientific organizations that embody tens of thousands of individuals are mistrusted. Yet, some individual in Tijuana, Mexico has your full trust. I think that a certain skepticism on government actions and decisions is quite healthy and welcomed, but this is not what I see in this case.
I wish you all well, and I will pray for the too young Abraham.

- by john on Aug 21, 2006 at 4:27 PM | link