CONNECTICUT COURT RULES AGAINST TEEN WHO DIDN'T WANT CHEMO

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

BY PAT EATON-ROBB

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Thursday that state officials aren't violating the rights of a 17-year-old girl by forcing her to undergo cancer chemotherapy she doesn't want.

The decision came in the case of the girl known in court documents only as Cassandra C., who will be free to make her own medical decisions when she turns 18 in September. She, with the support of her mother, had fought against the six-month course of chemotherapy.

The case centered on whether the girl is mature enough to determine how to treat her Hodgkin lymphoma, which she was diagnosed with in September. Several other states recognize the "mature minor doctrine."

The court ruled that her lawyers had the opportunity to prove her maturity during a Juvenile Court hearing in December and failed to do so "under any standard."

FULL story at link.



Jackie Fortin of Windsor Locks, Conn., speaks outside the Connecticut Supreme Court in Hartford, Conn., on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015, shortly after the court ruled the that state child protection officials aren't violating the rights of her 17-year-old daughter by forcing the girl to undergo cancer chemotherapy she doesn't want. (AP Photo/Pat Eaton-Robb)

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TEEN_CANCER_TREATMENT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-01-08-16-22-37

[bluestateguy]

1. "My body, my choice"

I guess that principle is only applicable to abortion.

I am pro-choice, btw, in all things.

[Dont call me Shirley]

3. +1

[msanthrope]

8. It's applicable when the person is mature enough to make the decision....the trial

court, however, found that the 17 year old (and her mother) thought the cancer would just go away.

[Cryptoad]

11. thats a stretch ,,,

to compare cancer treatment to abortion .......

the Law says she is not old enough to refuse treatment, if she lives a couple years she can then refuse the treatment.

[groundloop]

2. There's a little bit more to this story - the girl and her mother are not totally rational

I just read about this on BBC's website. They had a quote from the mother claiming that the girls life isn't in danger from this cancer and that she doesn't want to see her daughter suffer through the treatment. I'm not saying that I (or the court) knows the correct way to handle this, but when someone is in denial of the prospect of death from Hodgkins Lymphoma it seems that they may not be making rational decisions.

[bluestateguy]

4. Well, it's a good thing the government is there to set them straight

nt

[jberryhill]

6. Do you say that when religious wackos deny treatment to their children

This decision does not seem to be based on a flip of the coin, but by an examination of the rationale.

Yes, people can make rational decisions to refuse treatment.

In the case here, it seems the court determined that this was not based on a rational decision.

[MADem]

7. She's got Hodgkin's Lymphoma--that's pretty easily cured.

IF you take the chemo that is. And without the chemo, you have an outstanding chance of dying.

Not sure if this child is the full quid--she may be unduly influenced by the mother. The kid seems to think she can be cured without the chemo, and that's not happening.

I'm all for choice, but I think the court may have gotten this one right, particularly since this kid and her mother think they can cure Hodgkins with herbs and vitamins--that's a recipe for the undertaker.

[geek tragedy]

19. Yes it is. nt

[exboyfil]

5. Hodgkin lymphoma is one of the most treatable forms of cancer

When I first read the headline I thought you were dealing with something like pancreatic cancer in which it would be rational to decide not to undergo treatment.
Still the libertarian in me resists the thought of the state compelling treatment for a 17 year old. 14 and under clearly the treatment should happen.

[MADem]

9. Is this a mature seventeen year old, though?

I think at seventeen I could figure out, particularly nowadays, with Google, and all, that Hodgkins is readily cured with chemo, and without it, ya croak.

It's not like this kid has a death wish--she is (stupidly) thinking she can cure herself with natural means, and we know that's not going to happen. How much her mother has to do with that thought process is what might have persuaded the court to insist that she take the chemo.

[exboyfil]

10. You kind of want to go medieval on the mom

This girl has her entire future before her, and her mom is trying to throw that away. Crazy, stupid.

[MADem]

12. Yeah--makes ya wonder.

I wonder if the teen is all there--maybe the mom is tired of caregiving, and the kid lacks the maturity to go out on her own when she reaches eighteen or twenty one....?

Not to be mean, or anything--it could be just simple stupidity...!

[cpwm17]

13. Good

I hope the daughter grows up to be healthy and also realizes what her mother tried to do to her.

She can then thank the doctors and the Connecticut Supreme Court.

[ClassyCaptain]

14. Insurance money!

[HeiressofBickworth]

15. Since science seems to agree

that the human brain isn't fully developed until approximately age 24, and that the last portion of the brain to mature is the portion that governs judgment, it seems that the Court made the right decision. The 17-year old isn't capable of making an informed decision on treatment for a very treatable form of cancer. The mother should be locked up for attempted negligent homicide -- what kind of mother would refuse life-saving treatment for her child.

[Omaha Steve]

16. APNewsBreak: Girl says she knows she'll die without chemo

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/54ddae1d597346e88326cbaa7c31ce07/connecticut-court-hears-case-teen-refusing-chemotherapy




This summer 2014 photo provided by Cassandra C., shows Cassandra, a teen who does not give her last name, who is confined in a room at Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford, Conn., where she is being forced to undergo chemotherapy. The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015, that state officials are not violating the rights of the 17-year-old by forcing her to undergo cancer chemotherapy she does not want. (AP Photo/Cassandra C.)


HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A 17-year-old girl being forced by state officials to undergo chemotherapy for her cancer said Thursday she understands she'll die if she stops treatment but it should be her decision.

The state Supreme Court ruled earlier in the day state officials aren't violating the rights of the girl, Cassandra C., who has Hodgkin lymphoma.

Cassandra told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview from her hospital it disgusts her to have "such toxic harmful drugs" in her body and she'd like to explore alternative treatments. She said by text she understands "death is the outcome of refusing chemo" but believes in "the quality of my life, not the quantity."

"Being forced into the surgery and chemo has traumatized me," Cassandra wrote in her text. "I do believe I am mature enough to make the decision to refuse the chemo, but it shouldn't be about maturity, it should be a given human right to decide what you want and don't want for your own body."

FULL story at link.

[DeSwiss]

17. Just some of the Cannabis/Lymphoma research studies since 1999:

1999 - News ~ UCSF Researchers Report New Risk Factors For Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
2000 - Study ~ Anandamide Induces Apoptosis in Human Cells via Vanilloid Receptors
2002 - Study - Cannabinoid receptor agonist may be novel class anti-Lymphoma agents

2002 - Study ~ Targeting CB2 cannabinoid receptors as a novel therapy to treat malignant lymphoblastic disease

2002 - News ~ Lymphoma may be slowed by cannabis

2003 - Study ~ High level of cannabinoid receptor 1, absence of regulator of G protein signalling 13 and differential expression of Cyclin D1 in mantle cell lymphoma
2004 - Study ~ The Peripheral Cannabinoid Receptor CB2 and CD40 Are Novel Biological Markers That Predict Outcome in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma of Elderly Patients.

2005 - Study ~ Cannabinoid receptor ligands mediate growth inhibition and cell death in mantle cell lymphoma.
2006 - Study ~ Cannabinoid Receptor-Mediated Apoptosis Induced by R(+)-Methanandamide and Win55,212-2 Is Associated with Ceramide Accumulation and p38 Activation in Mantle Cell Lymphoma

2007 - Study ~ The expression of the peripheral cannabinoid receptor on cells of the immune system and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

2008 - Study ~ Medical Marijuana Use and Research Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Statement

2008 - Study - Expression of cannabinoid receptors type 1 and type 2 in non-Hodgkin lymphoma: growth inhibition by receptor activation.

2008 - News ~ Cannabis Agonist Reduces Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Tumor Growth, says study
2009 - Study ~ Potentiation of cannabinoid-induced cytotoxicity in mantle cell lymphoma through modulation of ceramide metabolism.

2009 - News ~ Medical Marijuana and Lymphoma

2011 - Study ~ WIN55,212-2 induces cytoplasmic vacuolation in apoptosis-resistant MCL cells.

2013 - Study ~ Expression and functional relevance of cannabinoid receptor 1 in hodgkin lymphoma.

link

''There are two ways: with nature or against nature. You have to choose one.''

~Hisao Hanafusa

[geek tragedy]

18. Part of me agrees, part of me worries this means she'll reproduce.

Two generations of imbeciles is enough.

[CanSocDem]

20. It's too bad...

...that western culture didn't have a more mature attitude about life and death. It would probably improve so called medical treatment that currently has the legal authority to sentence you to a life of pain and discomfort. But hey! You'll still be alive.

As the headlines of a few days ago claimed, it is all a matter of "luck" so it would appear that the chances of a 'magical' cure are about even, depending on whether or not you can, as they say, 'make your own luck'.

My best friend recently died of cancer and it was clear to me that it was about 'making decisions' from the very beginning. I applaud this woman and her daughter for choosing quality over longevity.



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