Alternative Treatment Fails, a boy dies

[Steven Snyder]

From our friends at MSNBC.COM

Boy at center of chemo controversy dies
Family won court approval to treat son's cancer with holistic medicine

Updated: 1 hour, 51 minutes ago
CANTON, Ohio - An 11-year-old boy whose parents won court approval to treat their son’s leukemia with an unconventional method has died after five years of fighting the cancer.

Noah Maxin died Thursday at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, said Rinda Schelat of Reed Funeral Home in Canton.

Noah’s parents, Greg and Theresa Maxin, won the right in 2002 to abandon chemotherapy treatment for their then-7-year-old son. County child welfare officials had accused the couple of neglect after the Maxins told Akron Children’s Hospital they were pulling Noah out of chemotherapy three months into a 3 1/2-year treatment plan.

The couple said they were concerned about the long-term effects chemotherapy would have on Noah, whose cancer had gone into remission.

After researching alternative treatments, they found a doctor specializing in holistic medicine who recommended a healthier diet along with supplements to boost Noah’s immune system.

The parents put him back on chemotherapy after the cancer returned four months later.

No comment.

[Master_Baerne]

Moral of the story: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[Aaron]

Shades of the constant JW vs government battles over blood transfusions taking place in British Columbia and Ontario.

[Justforfun000]

No comment.

Actually I will though. It seems that you're implying that the lack of conventional treatment at one phase of this disease coupled with alternative treatment proves that this was a wrong choice because he died. Be careful you don't mix up correlation with causation.

We don't know if he would have died at the same time or even EARLIER if following conventional treatment alone. Anectdotal stories are not evidence for efficacy or lack of as you should know.

Now some expert opinion might suggest a likelihood based on statistics, but I don't see a mention of that in the article. All we know is that he lost the fight to cancer. Millions of people do that follow the conventional treatments as well. We need more information.

[Faram]

Well he was on chemo when he died so the chemo must be the cause.

I am sure that if had skiped that fraud holistic stuff and seen the light with homeopathic medecine he would have been fine.

[Justforfun000]

I should further add that even though the slant of the article suggests that if they followed the orthodox approach things would have been different, we can't assume that without an expert opinion. For all we know a high percentage of people sticking to that long-term plan also have cancer return within that window of time.

[K. A. Pital]

What is this unconventional medicine? Real medicine or pseudoscience? If the latter, sorry, but they had better sticking with chemical therapy.

[Justforfun000]

What is this unconventional medicine? Real medicine or pseudoscience? If the latter, sorry, but they had better sticking with chemical therapy.

Well that's it, I don't know. Since we don't have enough information to truly evaluate this, it's not fair to make a snap judgment. There are some alternative therapies out there that have evidence of efficacy. Others have definite track records of zero help. Others are untested and therefore impossible to evaluate.

In my opinion they should have harmonized the two as is happening more often these days and is a better alternative. Go the conventional route, but use the alternative methods to minimize the side effects and improve the bodies general health and vitality.

[Invictus ChiKen]

Didn't we have a thread awhile back about a family trying to get there kid onto herbal treatment?

Where most of the herbs where known for there anti-cancer effects?

[Steven Snyder]

I haven't done this in a long time...

Actually I will though. It seems that you're implying that the lack of conventional treatment at one phase of this disease coupled with alternative treatment proves that this was a wrong choice because he died.

I don't have to imply anything. I am quite upfront in my belief that taking a child with leukemia off chemotherapy and replacing it with holistic medicine and making sure he eats his veggies is a horribly stupid idea.

We don't know if he would have died at the same time or even EARLIER if following conventional treatment alone.

Appeal to Ignorance.

Anectdotal stories are not evidence for efficacy or lack of as you should know.

No but statistics are, which is now what this boy is.

Now some expert opinion might suggest a likelihood based on statistics, but I don't see a mention of that in the article.

Maybe the author of the article didn't think it important to have a quote from a doctor stating that statistically speaking people who seek real medical treatment for their leukemia have a higher survival rate than those that don't?

All we know is that he lost the fight to cancer.
Millions of people do that follow the conventional treatments as well. We need more information.

So because modern medical science can't produce a 100% survival rate when treating cancer it's okay to just take your kid off treatment!?!?!

I should further add that even though the slant of the article suggests that if they followed the orthodox approach things would have been different, we can't assume that without an expert opinion.

It doesn't take a genius to note that your odds of surviving leukemia are mathematically higher if you get treatment than if you don't.

For all we know a high percentage of people sticking to that long-term plan also have cancer return within that window of time.

Appeal to Ignorance again...

[aerius]

I'm just waiting for someone to rationalize it as follows "clearly, it was god's will that his time was up".

[SylasGaunt]

There's also the fact the cancer had apperantly gone into remission when they pulled him off the chemo.

[Justforfun000]

Oh no SS, you're not pulling me into that kind of argument.

I'm not arguing FOR the parents, I'm just cautioning on judgement one way or the other because it's still impossible to give an informed, medical opinion on this without more information. FAR more information. Medical science is one of the most nebulous sciences we have, and the yardstick for 'proof' is a different ballgame then any other. They simply don't understand the human body well enough, and the field of medicine is so VAST it's extremely difficult to lay definite proclamations down. I was just listing some valid points to consider as to why you can't insinuate that the alternative treatment is damned by the boy's outcome. Appeal to Ignorance they might be, but they are still right.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

In fairness to the parents, they did put him back on chemo only four months later when the cancer returned. A JW or Christian Scientist would have just kept him off and he probably would have died much sooner. Furthermore, since that was five years ago, it's reasonable to assume that he completed the full three and a half year treatment programme.

His parents were certainly criminally idiotic, but saying that the four month gap in the chemo treatment plan that lasted three and a half years was the proximate cause of his dying may be a bit much.

[Plekhanov]

The couple said they were concerned about the long-term effects chemotherapy would have on Noah, whose cancer had gone into remission.

Chemo can be gruesome but I believe it's 'long-term effects' are generally preferable to those of cancer.

It's rather unlikely the doctors would have been putting the kid through chemo for laughs, if they were still prescribing it for him and went to court to try and keep on doing so it will most likely have have been for a good medical reason like them not being confident that the cancer was fully in remission.

[Gerald Tarrant]

Noah’s parents, Greg and Theresa Maxin, won the right in 2002 to abandon chemotherapy treatment for their then-7-year-old son. County child welfare officials had accused the couple of neglect after the Maxins told Akron Children’s Hospital they were pulling Noah out of chemotherapy three months into a 3 1/2-year treatment plan.

The couple said they were concerned about the long-term effects chemotherapy would have on Noah, whose cancer had gone into remission.

My little brother is being treated for a relapse of leukemia. He was diagnosed at age 13. His first treatment went perfectly, and he was in remission at 2 months. But the program still gave him heavy doses of chemo, and some intense "maintenance" after a year. The doctors explained that remission did not mean he was in the clear, instead they wanted to continue to treat agressively for the next four or five months.

I can understand why the parents would want their son off of chemo. My little brother had previously played Lacrosse and Soccer. The chemo exhausted him though, and maintenance included insertion of tubing (a "port" on his chest) which kept him from participating in sports. Also one of the maintenance drugs that he was on was so hazardous that when it was administered everyone in the room had to wear a hospital gown, and mask. These were daunting decisions for my parents. At the time my little brother didn't want to continue chemo, he wanted to be able to interact with his friends and since he was in remission he figured he was ok. The doctors are convinced that the continued treatment and maintenance kept the leukemia in remission for long enough that my little bro's chances improved drastically. (One of the important determiners of Leukemia survival rates is how long it remains in remission).

So back to the OP, I sympathize with the parents, but I think their decision to stop chemo after the remission was a mistake. I don't however sympathize with the holistic medicine guru.

After researching alternative treatments, they found a doctor specializing in holistic medicine who recommended a healthier diet along with supplements to boost Noah’s immune system.

This "Doctor" should have been aquainted with lukemia survival rates or he shouldn't have offered advice. I realize the article is light on the specifics of the case, but I can't think of any mitigating factors for the Doctor. He/she should have bowed out and left this to the Oncologists, instead it seems the parents had the misfortune of crossing paths with a GP who had delusions of competency in every specialty.

Just saw this as I was posting

The couple said they were concerned about the long-term effects chemotherapy would have on Noah, whose cancer had gone into remission.

Chemo can be gruesome but I believe it's 'long-term effects' are generally preferable to those of cancer.

It's rather unlikely the doctors would have been putting the kid through chemo for laughs, if they were still prescribing it for him and went to court to try and keep on doing so it will most likely have have been for a good medical reason like them not being confident that the cancer was fully in remission.

After remission my little brother was kept on chemo for a while, (just in case) plus regular maintenance which would often take out his WBC count and leave him confined to our house in a surgical mask. Even at two years the Doctors were doing regular checkups, and occasional chemo runs. My little brothe had a relapse. He was in remission this time after two months (long enough that the doctors worried a little), but he still got regular chemo throughout his entire Sr. year. They'll probably still be doing "maintenance" when he graduates from college, that's for Adolescent onset leukemia which has high survival rates. If the kid in the article (Noah) had something more severe, then the doctors would have been more agressive to improve survivability. I'm just (based off of experience) going to trust the oncologists over the

... "doctor" [quack] specializing in holistic medicine ...

[Darth Wong]

I may not be a doctor but how does it necessarily follow that the parents are idiots if they pulled him off chemotherapy while the cancer was in remission, and put him back on when the cancer came back? I've known people who followed all the recommendations and suffered through chemo for years and died anyway. Hell, there was an unfortunate girl in my school when I was a kid, right around that same age. It's not as if there's a guarantee that the chemo's going to work, and while the cancer is in remission it only appears to be doing damage. Perhaps a cancer specialist could explain the reasoning to me, but the knee-jerk "hur hur parents are fucking idiots" reaction doesn't seem justified to me.

[RRoan]

What is this unconventional medicine? Real medicine or pseudoscience? If the latter, sorry, but they had better sticking with chemical therapy.

Well, in my experience it's both. Some things are helpful and some aren't, and a few things are actually harmful. Most of it is not clinically tested, and none of it is FDA-approved.

[Enigma]

In fairness to the parents, they did put him back on chemo only four months later when the cancer returned. A JW or Christian Scientist would have just kept him off and he probably would have died much sooner. Furthermore, since that was five years ago, it's reasonable to assume that he completed the full three and a half year treatment programme.

His parents were certainly criminally idiotic, but saying that the four month gap in the chemo treatment plan that lasted three and a half years was the proximate cause of his dying may be a bit much.

I'm a JW and I'd take chemo if I had cancer. Same if I had any children. Just because we abstain from blood transfusion doesn't mean we don't use any medical treatment for illnesses.

[Yogi]

According to the American Cancer Society, remission != Cancer gone away. Given the nature of cancer it needs to be completely killed, which means taking chemo even after the symptoms have gone away. It's not quite as stupid as stopping your antibiotics once the symptons are gone instead of taking the doses prescribed by your doctor, but it's the same type of idiocy.

[Mrs Kendall]

I'm just waiting for someone to rationalize it as follows "clearly, it was god's will that his time was up".

It was his fate.



Anyway, I can't see why someone would take their child off a proven way of beating cancer just to try something new, but whatever.

[Lusankya]

I may not be a doctor but how does it necessarily follow that the parents are idiots if they pulled him off chemotherapy while the cancer was in remission, and put him back on when the cancer came back? I've known people who followed all the recommendations and suffered through chemo for years and died anyway. Hell, there was an unfortunate girl in my school when I was a kid, right around that same age. It's not as if there's a guarantee that the chemo's going to work, and while the cancer is in remission it only appears to be doing damage. Perhaps a cancer specialist could explain the reasoning to me, but the knee-jerk "hur hur parents are fucking idiots" reaction doesn't seem justified to me.

How about people who stop using antibiotics the moment the symptoms for whatever problem they have go away, and then go back on them when the symptoms return?

[General Zod]

What is this unconventional medicine? Real medicine or pseudoscience? If the latter, sorry, but they had better sticking with chemical therapy.

Well that's it, I don't know. Since we don't have enough information to truly evaluate this, it's not fair to make a snap judgment. There are some alternative therapies out there that have evidence of efficacy. Others have definite track records of zero help. Others are untested and therefore impossible to evaluate.

In my opinion they should have harmonized the two as is happening more often these days and is a better alternative. Go the conventional route, but use the alternative methods to minimize the side effects and improve the bodies general health and vitality.

After researching alternative treatments, they found a doctor specializing in holistic medicine who recommended a healthier diet along with supplements to boost Noah’s immune system.

With advice like this, I have to wonder how much the parents were fleeced for this so-called doctor's "services".

[phred]

while the parents move was probably not the best ever . the kids cancer was in remission and its not as if they completely rejected medicine altogether like Christian Scientists do. While going to holistic medicine was probably not the best idea ever, its not like they said "Hes better now we can stop"

[General Zod]

while the parents move was probably not the best ever . the kids cancer was in remission and its not as if they completely rejected medicine altogether like Christian Scientists do. While going to holistic medicine was probably not the best idea ever, its not like they said "Hes better now we can stop"

Holistic medicine is a retarded idea when the suggestion by the "doctor" basically amounts to "Eat your Veggies and take vitamins to build your immune system." Especially with the amount these quacks are likely to charge.