Judge orders teen to cancer treatment, slow painful death

AP -- A judge ruled Friday that a 16-year-old boy fighting to use alternative treatment for his cancer must report to a hospital by Tuesday and accept treatment that doctors deem necessary, the family's attorney said.

The judge also found Starchild Abraham Cherrix's parents were neglectful for allowing him to pursue alternative treatment of a sugar-free, organic diet and herbal supplements supervised by a clinic in Mexico, lawyer John Stepanovich said.

Jay and Rose Cherrix of Chincoteague on Virginia's Eastern Shore must continue to share custody of their son with the Accomack County Department of Social Services, as the judge had previously ordered, Stepanovich said.

The parents were devastated by the new order and planned to appeal, the lawyer said. Full story here

Here we have a kid saying "Your treatment makes me feel worse than the disease, I'll go my own route," and the government saying "No, you forgot that your body belongs to us."

I suppose next they'll finally be arresting all those Christian Scientist parents that watch their children die in front of them while refusing basic medical care. Although, taken in that light, this doesn't set such a bad precedent.

EDIT: This is from the wikipedia entry on Hodgkin's disease (an official source of science, I know).

"The high cure rates and long survival of many patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma has led to a high concern with late adverse effects of treatment, including cardiovascular disease and second malignancies such as acute leukemias, lymphomas, and solid tumors within the radiation therapy field."

Future lawsuit anyone?