Teen girl and mother fight the state over right to refuse chemo cancer treatment

[haele]

107. Well, her type of cancer is fatal if treated, but she can easily live 40 - 50 years if it is treated

Chemo sucks, but this isn't a case of "it will give you a couple more years", just as doctors who are treating any chronic illness or injury that may affect your immune system enough to cause your eventual death are not "saving your life" in the long run.

My daughter's father in law was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma when he was 14, had Chemo for a year and a half immediately after diagnosis, and a healthy son when he was 18...and he's 47 now with a full head of hair, and still healthy with only a few issues (due to habits) and has seen no remission.
Now, the question as to whether or not a young woman of 17 should be forced to have Chemo against her mother's wishes - I find that tricky. The young woman is hearing all about the poison and the few months of pain or weakness, and probably that "she's going to die anyway" and/or become sterile (and lose her value to a prospective husband) - or all the other such nonsense that goes around the internet when it comes to cancer. And at her age, her mother is probably the one with the insurance policy that she would be using to get treatment, if the young woman isn't being covered by CHIP or some other children's health insurance fund.
17 is a tough age; most 17-year-olds are still easily swayed by peers or influential adults (parental figures, coaches, teachers, employers). If no one in that peer group or adult category is willing to encourage the confidence to make informed decisions and take responsibility, that 17 year old is just going to bounce around through young adulthood until s/he does something stupid enough to get killed/disabled/incarcerated or finally make it through to the late 20's, when hopefully maturity and responsibility kicks in.

Chemo is not going to impoverish her family now-a-days. And again, she can have a long life with children afterwards.

But as they say - "it's her choice". I'm just sad to see a life wasted because none of the influences in her life are pragmatic enough to view her as more than a damaged vessel that is better off in the trash; not worth the time and effort to fix, and have managed to convince her that she has no future to fight the cancer for. Or worse, that somehow, cancer can just be miracled away and she'd be cured if everyone just believed enough.

Haele