(two updates below)
Are you aware of Daniel Hauser? At this time he’s 13, has Hodgkin Lymphoma, and is on the lam with his mom. They are running to prevent a court order that would force Daniel to resume chemotherapy for his Hodgkins.
There is a lot of controversy over this case. People argue over patient’s rights, parent’s rights, the pain/benefit balance for cancer treatment. Dr. Rahul K. Parikh wrote a sensitive article for Salon.com exploring the complications.
This is a gripping story for me. At 19 I was diagnosed with stage 3B Hodgkins. Good timing on my part – an initial cure for Hodgkins was just being recognized. As my oncologist put it at the time “we know it works because people we treated five years ago are still alive.”
Treatments have improved since 1976. Side effects are “less” severe. Yet the central truth of Hodgkins chemotherapy is selective poisoning. Subjecting your entire body to poisons that will, 19 times out of 20, kill the cancer before it kills you. Living through that is not a good time.
At 13 Daniel feels the pain way more than he can foresee the decades of life that lie beyond treatment. I wish his parents could see the life that lies beyond treatment.
What follows is the contents of my letter to the editor on this matter.
In November 1977 my doctor said “there hasn’t been a sign of cancer in your body since June.” I went weak in the knees and a lmost fainted. Why hadn’t they told me that great news in June?
Perhaps because they understood the risk of my refusing to continue the course of treatment that had been planned out in the fall of 1976 when I was diagnosed with stage 3B Hodgkins.
I was 19 at the time of diagnosis. Medical treatment, both chemotherapy and radiation, lasted a full year. I somewhat stoically endured that treatment and then spent years, mostly on my own, working on mental recovery.
Daniel at the very young 13 cannot be expected to have the foresight to see beyond the daily pain of treatment. He is behaving quite rationally.
However his parents are failing him. They need to make the life saving decision to keep him in chemo. They need to follow up by being there for him and getting him the now widely available help to live through treatment – on a psychic basis.
I hope they find Daniel and his mother and get him into treatment. I trust that if that happens on some day over 30 years from now Daniel, like me, will have memories of treatment and a love for the years of life it provided.
Update: Daniel and his mom have returned from their time away from Minnesota. Daniel will be getting the treatment with a 95% success rate. It is with great relief I withdraw the statement “his parents are failing him.” May their journey through treatment go as well as possible.
Update: Kent Petersen is participating in the annual Livestrong Challenge to raise funds for the foundation. Donate Now! Why? The Livestrong Foundation does more than raise money for research. Their mission: We can help you face the challenges and changes that come with cancer. 30 years ago that element was missing in treatment. The Livestrong Foundation is supporting a vital aspect of helping people get back to total health. It is strongly worth supporting.
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