Daniel Hauser, the boy who was heading for disaster because his parents refused treatment for his Hodgkin's disease, is going in for a first round of chemotherapy today. What is the plan?
Daniel Hauser has
Hodgkin's disease. Once virtually 100 per cent fatal, it is one of the success stories of modern medicine, since it now has an excellent prognosis with survival rates of 95 per cent, a percentage that is climbing.
The standard therapy for Hodgkin's disease is
chemotherapy and
radiation therapy. In many
alternological circles, this is frowned upon, and it is seen as the expression of a sinister conspiracy between doctors and what they call Big Pharma to administer horrible drugs, for the sake of killing patients and making money, and that "natural" ways are the way to go.
Daniel went through a first round of chemotherapy. This was an unpleasant experience for the young man, and this ultimately led to his parents invoking religious reasons to refuse treatment altogether.
They hoped to treat him "naturally," the way "God intended." As members of the
Nemenhah, they claim to adhere to the principle of "do no harm." One of the misconceptions is that they can help the body heal itself by giving it
vitamins and other stuff.
Why is this wrong? Only minuscule amounts of vitamins are needed. Large doses can actually be harmful. Second: feed the body, feed the cancer. In Hodgkin's disease, the cancer grows more rapidly than the body. All they would be doing is encourage more vigorous cancer growth.
This episode is now over, and Daniel will receive the treatment that he needs. One of the elements that motivated the Hausers to comply with the court order is likely to have been that Daniel was having pain again, due to the growth of his tumour. Due to lack of treatment, it is now larger than before the treatment started and it is pushing against his
windpipe. This hurts, Daniel evaluated the pain on a scale of 1 to 10 as 10. It also makes breathing more difficult.
Daniel underwent a medical exam on Monday and a treatment plan was set up. These are some of the results:
1. A
CT scan shows that the tumour has grown and that it is now larger than when it was diagnosed, and it is
protruding outside the chest wall. The airway is compressed even further. Standard chemotherapy must be started this week.
2. A 2-week treatment with
prednisone should be started to control tumour growth. Chemotherapy must continue however, because prednisone is not a cure.
3. It is assumed that Daniel will not need another bone marrow examination, but this is not yet certain. A
PET scan will have to determine that.
Chemotherapy will be started again, as a continuation of the originally planned 6 cycles of chemotherapy. This will be followed by
involved field radiation therapy.
Since the family wants to use alternology, it will be included in the treatment plan, on the condition that there is no evidence that this may be dangerous.
Daniel will remain at home during the treatment, and will go to the hospital as an outpatient if his condition allows it. Should there be any worsening of his cough or breathing problems, he will need to be admitted to the hospital. A home health nurse or a legal court appointed guardian will ensure that Daniel takes the prednisone as prescribed, starting on Tuesday, 26 May.
