I have taken care of a number of women who refused any medical treatment, due to their religious beliefs...this all took place within the environment of the nursing home setting....we were not even allowed to take their temps, or pulse, or blood pressure, as I am assuming that they and their familes felt taking vital signs was of no use, as they were not going to do anything medical anyway, to counteract a rising temp, or too low or too high of a blood pressure...it was sometimes difficult for the nursing staff to care for them, as we could do nothing for them medically speaking, nothing to help them at the end of their lives...
I also have acquaintances who refuse blood transfusions on religious grounds...the woman I know, was diagnosed with cancer, and she refused medical treatment, not because she objected to the chemo which would have been involved, but because she knew she would probably need blood transfusions because of the side effects of the chemo, often lowering blood counts...so she willingly died, convinced that she was doing the correct thing, for her salvation...she left behind a husband(who believed as she did), and two young sons....I have often wondered how the sons felt about this...would their faith be weakened because they saw their mom die from lack of treatment, or would their faith have been strengthened, because they saw their mom stand firm in her beliefs...This was many years ago, today those young boys would be young men...I was more an acquaintance of the lady who died, her husband had no wish to speak to me, as I was not of his faith, and he was one, who believed that there should be a cutting off all ties with those he considered to be non-believers in his faith...so I have never been able to know how these two boys viewed this situation....
I do believe that all have the right to make medical decisions which are in agreement with their religious beliefs...thats a given right...I guess I really just question, whether ones salvation depends on receiving or not receiving medical treatment, and what kind of treatment...
Since this is hypothetical, weigh the consequences of the woman abandoning her faith to a futile attempt at cure, followed by a prolonged and lingering death. We cannot see the future, and a cancer cure is not guaranteed.
Perhaps you haven't fully read what I wrote. This is not really where I am headed; I fully respect the meticulous trauma care given accident victims, for example. What I reject is the destructive, fraudulent practices such as calling poisons that are found to be deadly during their trials 'cures' when all they do at best for the condition for which they are prescribed is mask the symptoms, all the while they deceitfully hide the deadly side effects that were observed. They even run TV commercials with actors falsly claiming restoration of their health, as the disclaimers are run at the bottom of the screen in fine print and at high speed.
The #1 cause of death is this country is "medical misadventure" but they even hide that obfuscatory term by allowing the person that caused the premature death to prepare the death certificate, blaming the death on some other cause, usually pnuemonia since that is the rapid result of destroying a persons immune system with drugs and/or radiation, and never confessing to the obvious.
As for your friend, and others like her, their premature deaths are unnecessary, since there so many effective, non-invasive therapies for cancer available. Any person with a computer and an internet connection can find all the information needed to get connected with a naturopathic practitioner (most of them MD's or DO's that have gone straight ) that can guide them.
I would think that almost everyone would be somewhat familiar with Dr. Stanislauw Brdzinsky's case. He wes attacked by the AMA and FDA in a criminal case and proved in court that he regularly cured cancer through diet and herbal therapy.