In 2015, a Connecticut Supreme Court judge ruled that Cassandra Callender, a 17-year-old with curable Hodgkin lymphoma, was not mentally fit to make decisions about her own medical treatment. Callender had wanted to skip treatment because she believed chemotherapy is poison, and her mother initially supported her decision.
Full Answer
Should children be treated for cancer?
Though treatment has vastly improved in the last few decades, cancer never comes with a 100-percent guarantee for survival. Even with the most encouraging diagnoses, standard treatments cause short-term acute suffering that's often very hard on a child, and understandably, may prompt the young patient to question their safety.
What happened to the 17 year old with cancer in Connecticut?
Connecticut Teenager With Cancer Loses Court Fight to Refuse Chemotherapy. The police were banging on the doors and the windows of her home while she cowered in the closet, a 17-year-old girl recounted. She remembered clutching her phone, crying, calling her mother. “I was scared,” she wrote of the experience.
What happened to the girl who refused to get chemotherapy?
Her doctors had told her that chemotherapy was her best chance of survival, but she still refused, hoping to find alternative treatments. The case eventually ended up in the state’s Supreme Court. The court found that the Department of Children and Families had not violated Callender’s rights by requiring her to undergo chemotherapy.
Can children with incurable cancer reliably characterize side effects?
Pamela Hinds, director of Nursing Research and Quality Outcomes at Children's National in Washington, D.C., recently conducted a study that demonstrated even children with incurable cancer are able to reliably characterize the side effects of an experimental treatment and accurately express how it impacts their quality of life.
Can you refuse cancer treatment for child?
Cancer treatment for children almost always requires parental consent. Minor patients (those younger than age 18) are generally presumed incompetent, thus legally incapable of providing consent to their own medical treatment. Therefore, parents must make treatment decisions on their behalf.
Can you be forced to have cancer treatment?
The answer is yes—sometimes. Physicians may administer cancer therapy without consent under some circumstances. Yet this is always a last resort option, used only after clinicians have exhausted the possibility of obtaining treatment consent.
What do you do if someone refuses treatment for cancer?
If you feel your loved one is refusing treatment because of denial, or because of fear of undergoing treatment, talk to the oncologist. You may want to visit a counselor or support group together.
Can you refuse medical treatment for cancer?
Refusing treatment is a personal decision that involves not just the medical facts of the case, but the values of the person afflicted with cancer. Although it can be hard to accept, sometimes refusing treatment is the right decision to make.
What happens if you dont treat cancer?
Cancers can grow into and damage blood vessels in a vital part of the body. This can cause bleeding in the brain. This bleeding can cause death if it affects certain important parts of the brain.
Can a person be forced to have medical treatment?
You cannot legally be treated without your consent as a voluntary patient – you have the right to refuse treatment. This includes refusing medication that might be prescribed to you. (An exception to this is if you lack capacity to consent to treatment.)
How Long Can cancer patient live without treatment?
The pooled mean survival for patients without anticancer treatment in cohort studies was 11.94 months (95% CI: 10.07 to 13.8) and 5.03 months (95% CI: 4.17 to 5.89) in RCTs.
How long can cancer untreated?
If you're wondering how long you can have cancer without knowing it, there's no straight answer. Some cancers can be present for months or years before they're detected. Some commonly undetected cancers are slow-growing conditions, which gives doctors a better chance at successful treatment.
Why do cancer patients refuse treatment?
Cognitive aspects—where my cancer is, what my odds are—are only part of patients' decision-making, so we need to understand their emotions.” Emotions that drive refusal for treatment may stem from exhaustion, depression, or a desire not to be a burden to loved ones.
Do patients have the right to refuse treatment?
To the extent permitted by law, participation shall include the right to refuse treatment." Under federal law, the Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) guarantees the right to refuse life sustaining treatment at the end of life.
Is it a constitutional right to refuse medical treatment?
The Fourteenth Amendment provides that no State shall "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." The principle that a competent person has a constitutionally protected liberty interest in refusing unwanted medical treatment may be inferred from our prior decisions.
When do doctors decide not to treat cancer?
If the cancer cannot be cured If a cure is not possible and treatment aims to control the cancer, it may be difficult to decide whether to go ahead. If the cancer is advanced and has spread to other parts of the body, treatment may be able to control it, improving symptoms and quality of life.
How old is the girl who refused treatment for cancer?
A 17-year-old girl who initially refused treatment for a highly curable cancer is now in "remission" and wants to go home, her lawyer said Monday. Tap to Unmute.
Who is Cassandra's lawyer?
Now, the teen wants to commute from her mother's residence to finish out her chemo sessions instead of being held against her will at the facility, said her lawyer, assistant public defender Joshua Michtom. "She should be allowed to go home," said Michtom, who is scheduled to argue for Cassandra's freedom next Monday ...
When did the state remove the phone from the teens?
State child-welfare officials removed the teens's cell phone in December, Cassandra said. State workers returned the phone about six weeks later, based on her request. However, the device was not working well enough Monday to allow a phone interview, she said.
Is Cassandra C. undergoing chemotherapy?
The patient, called only Cassandra C. in court papers, has changed her mind about undergoing chemotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma, once seeing the drugs as "poison.". She now fully intends to complete her prescribed, six-month regimen, she told NBC News.
Is Cassandra in custody?
Cassandra was ordered into temporary state custody in January by the Connecticut Supreme Court. State justices ruled she was legally too immature to make her own medical conditions. They ordered her to continue chemo at a Hartford hospital where those treatments began in November. She was diagnosed in September.
Is Cassandra C in remission?
A 17-year-old girl who initially refused treatment for a highly curable cancer is now in remission and is seeking release from state custody to finish her last two months of chemotherapy at home, the teen and her lawyer said Monday. The patient, called only Cassandra C. in court papers, has changed her mind about undergoing chemotherapy ...
When did Cassandra C. learn she had cancer?
Cassandra C. learned she had cancer in September.
How old was Cassandra before she was chemo?
And so the chemotherapy treatments, which had already begun, will continue. Cassandra was a healthy, artistic 16-year-old before ...
What happened to Cassandra C?
Without it, the girl’s doctors say, she will die.
Why did Cassandra return to her home?
In her essay, she wrote that she had returned because she was afraid her disappearance might land her mother in jail. In December, she was hospitalized.
Why are courts cautious?
Courts tend to be cautious about ordering treatment over a patient’s objections, Dr. Appelbaum said, and whether they do so often involves several factors, including the seriousness of the condition, the child’s maturity, and concern about whether the child’s opinions are being influenced by a parent or other third party. Several of those variables appear to have figured in this case, he said.
Who said it's her body and she should not be forced to do anything with her body?
Ms. Fortin continued, “It’s her body, and she should not be forced to do anything with her body.”
Does the Department of Children and Families work with families?
In a statement this week, the Department of Children and Families said it preferred to work with families, not compel them, but had no choice in some cases .
Why was Christina Dixon charged with criminal mistreatment?
Christina Dixon was charged with criminal mistreatment after refusing to continue her daughter's cancer treatment, opting instead for vitamins and CBD oil. An Oregon court is ordering that a 13-year-old girl with a rare liver cancer have surgery and receive other medical treatment despite the objections of her mother.
Who makes medical decisions for Kylee?
Ultimately, in July, a judge ruled that the state, not Dixon, would make medical decisions for Kylee.
Where was Kylee found?
Three days later, police found the two in Nevada and placed Kylee in child-protective custody.
What did the Clackamas County court say about Dixon's decision?
But the state stepped in, with the Clackamas County juvenile court's filing a dependency petition in March that said Dixon's decision amounts to neglect and "creates a risk of harm to the child.”
Who is Ben Kesslen?
Ben Kesslen is a reporter for NBC News.
Is Kylee in foster care?
The court also requested that Kylee be placed in the care of a family member, as contact between her and her mother has been largely cut off and she remains in foster care.
Why did a 17 year old refuse treatment for leukemia?
In 1989, a 17-year-old teenager refused treatment for leukemia because the needed blood transfusions would go against her beliefs as a Jehovah’s Witness. Her mother sided with her. A lower court in Illinois found that the teen was being neglected and appointed a guardian to consent to the blood transfusions for her.
How long did Cassandra Callender have chemotherapy?
Last year Cassandra Callender, then 17, underwent five months of forced chemotherapy treatment for her Hodgkin’s lymphoma after Connecticut’s Department of Children and Families decided to intervene.
How long does Callender live with cancer?
Her doctors had told her that with chemotherapy, and sometimes radiation, patients have an 85 percent chance of being disease-free after five years.
What court did the Callender case go to?
The case eventually ended up in the state’s Supreme Court. The court found that the Department of Children and Families had not violated Callender’s rights by requiring her to undergo chemotherapy.
What happens if parents disagree with treatment plan?
If the parents and child disagree with the proposed treatment plan, doctors will generally listen to the parents’ wishes.
Do doctors have children's best interests in mind?
While doctors have children’s medical best interests in mind, families can provide a sense of broader best interests.
Is it easy to tell if a teenager is mature?
Telling whether a teenager is mature is not always easy.
Why did Cassandra Callender skip chemotherapy?
Callender had wanted to skip treatment because she believed chemotherapy is poison , and her mother initially supported her decision. With treatment, her cancer had an 80 to 85 percent cure rate. In another case, in 2009, a judge in Minneapolis ruled that a 13-year-old boy (also with curable Hodgkin lymphoma) couldn't refuse chemotherapy, even though his parents also wanted their son to try alternative therapies over standard cancer treatment.
How many children are diagnosed with cancer each year?
Each year, nearly 16,000 children and teens aged 0 to 19 are diagnosed with cancer. When that happens, the entire family faces uncertainty and difficult decisions. Though treatment has vastly improved in the last few decades, cancer never comes with a 100-percent guarantee for survival.
Why do pediatric oncologists have a sense of control?
A Sense of Control. Because pediatric oncologists always recognize there's a possibility that a patient may resist treatment, many children's hospitals set up their health care practices to help their young patients feel as empowered as they can.
What was the only option that could potentially cure him?
Amputation was the only option that could potentially cure him. But after additional tests, it became clear that it wouldn't necessarily prevent the cancer from spreading—or returning. The teen refused the surgery, so Bender eventually called child protective services.
Why do children resist doctors?
This can occur for a number of reasons including fear, denial or religious and personal beliefs.
Who is Jennifer Kesselheim?
Dr. Jennifer Kesselheim, a pediatric oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, says most pediatric onco logists want their young patients to feel like they have some control over treatment decision, and it's important that doctors honor this.
Is it good to have a sick child fleeing medical care?
The situation of a sick child fleeing medical care (and their family) is never good , but for this pediatric oncologist at NewYork-Presbyterian hospital, the case was staggeringly profound and disturbing.
Who deprived Noah of his medical care?
Joshua McAdams, 28, and Taylor Bland-Ball, 22, intentionally deprived their son, Noah, of legitimate medical treatment and sought natural remedies after he was diagnosed with cancer in April, according to Judge Thomas Palermo, who said there is “imminent risk of neglect” if the boy stays with his parents.
How many rounds of chemotherapy did Noah get?
Noah underwent two rounds of chemotherapy before his parents stopped bringing him to treatments. The judge said the particular type of chemotherapy has a 90 to 95 percent success rate — and emphasized that "there was no alternative with a remote chance of success.”.
Why is Florida on an endangered child alert?
Florida law enforcement issued an endangered child alert after McAdams and Bland-Ball failed to bring Noah to scheduled chemotherapy treatments, which were described as a "medically necessary hospital procedure."
Did Palermo and Noah have plans for treatment?
Palermo said Monday the couple didn't appear to have plans for Noah to be treated in Kentucky and, going a step further, detailed what appeared to be active steps to avoid such treatment: the parents abandoned a car and their cell phones while traveling, removed the boy's PICC line and consciously eluded law enforcement.
What happened to Cassandra?
After Cassandra was diagnosed with high-risk Hodgkin lymphoma, she and her mother missed several appointments, prompting doctors to notify the DCF, court documents say. A trial court in November granted DCF temporary custody of Cassandra. Lawyers for Cassandra and her mother then sought an injunction prohibiting medical treatment but failed.
What is the Cassandra case?
The case went to the state Supreme Court, which ruled in January that the state wasn't violating Cassandra's rights by forcing her to undergo chemotherapy. The case centered on the "mature minor doctrine" recognized by several other states - whether 16- and 17-year-olds are mature enough to make their own medical decisions.
How old is Cassandra C?
HARTFORD, Conn. - A 17-year-old Connecticut girl who was forced to undergo chemotherapy by the state after she and her mother refused treatment is happy her cancer is in remission but still upset she had no choice in the matter. The girl, identified in court documents only as Cassandra C., told The Associated Press in a phone interview Monday ...
Where is Cassandra in Connecticut?
Cassandra remains confined at Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford under the temporary custody of the state Department of Children and Families.
Who is the DCF Commissioner?
DCF Commissioner Joette Katz said in a statement that agency officials are pleased with "Cassandra's progress toward a complete recovery."
Is Hodgkin lymphoma in remission?
A recent medical scan showed no signs of the Hodgkin lymphoma that was diagnosed in September, and she expects to complete chemo next month. "I was really happy," she said about learning the cancer was in remission. "It kind of made it a lot easier to accept everything that has gone on here.
Is chemo in remission for a teenager?
Teen cancer patient ordered to chemotherapy in remission. HARTFORD, Conn. - A 17-year-old Connecticut girl who was forced to undergo chemotherapy by the state after she and her mother refused treatment is happy her cancer is in remission but still upset she had no choice in the matter.
Why did a 17 year old girl with leukemia refuse blood transfusions?
In Illinois in 1987, a 17-year-old girl with leukemia refused blood transfusions because they violated her religious beliefs as a Jehovah’s Witness. In 2007, Dennis Lindberg, a 14-year-old with leukemia, died after also refusing to allow a blood transfusion on the basis of his faith as a Jehovah's Witness.
How long will Cassandra die without the therapy?
Without it, she is likely to die in two years . But Cassandra balked at the treatment and said she didn't want to go through with it. Social services became involved and, after an emergency legal appeal, the state's high court said on Jan. 8 the teen could be forced to receive the therapy. [.
How long did Cassandra run away?
In November, Cassandra said under oath that she would undergo treatment if she was allowed to go home, but she ran away after two days, court documents say. " [She] either intentionally misrepresented her intentions to the trial court or she changed her mind on this issue of life and death," the court's order read. The behavior, the court decided, showed Cassandra lacked maturity to make this decision, and it gave the state temporary custody.
What is Cassandra's case?
Cassandra's case stands apart from the right-to-die movement, which aims to give terminally ill people the right to physician-assisted suicide. And she hasn't objected to the treatment on religious grounds, which are often cited when minors — or their parents on their behalf — refuse medical procedures.
What does USN and WR say about adolescents?
Diekema says adolescents' brains are not adequately developed to make these kinds of decisions, that they are heavily influenced by social and emotional reactions, including the wishes of friends and family. "It's the role of the state to protect children," he says.
How many reports of child abuse are there in Connecticut?
The Connecticut Department of Children and Families receives more than 45,000 reports of suspected abuse and/or neglect each year and, of those, about 70 percent come from mandated reporters, which include medical professionals, educators and law enforcement, according to the agency.
Where is Cassandra receiving care?
Connecticut Children 's Medical Center in Hartford, where Cassandra is receiving care, would not comment on the case other than to say in a statement that it respects the decision provided by the Supreme Court. "Now that a ruling has been issued, we will continue to work with the Department of Children and Families in providing care for this child," the statement read.
