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I knew a young woman many years ago who had Hodgkins lymphoma. She also did not want to deal with the effects of chemo [which is the young man's real complaint. If it didn't affect him badly, I think we could assume he'd stay on the regimen]. She was bright, well informed, well read, a college graduate. And like Mr. Cherrix she grasped at straws that would allow her [a]to avoid chemotherapy, [b] offer a course of treatment with surface plausibility that a cure was theoretically possible and [c]pretend that all was or would be well. The result was her death at an early age. So I have a basis for questioning his 'valued judgment', which seems more concerned with the treatment he's received than the disease that treatment is intended for. [See, for example the inconsistency of his position that he would rather to die than undergo further chemotherapy, while seeking some quasi-holistic cure to save his life.

As for noting his name, it's a lot like the phrase, "You are what you eat". Holistic medicine and "hippy" go together like 'peanut butter and jelly'. And the value system that produced the name may well have influenced his thought process and his choices. Mystify away.

And the value system that produced the name may well have influenced his thought process and his choices. Mystify away.

That's ridiculous. There are plenty of conservatives who had hippie parents just as there are plenty of liberals who had conservative parents. It is called "rebellion" and teenage kids do this.

That he chooses "holistic" medicine means nothing about his upbringing. He had already given chemo a shot and it was a horrible experience that did nothing to cure his disease. From what I've read, he's probably not going to live to be 20 regardless of the treatment he chooses. Why not try something else?

We can all come up with anecdotes about chemo to suit our argument which ever side of it you are.

The real issue is why is the Goverment allowed to force an individual to undergo a dangerous procedure with an uncertain outcome against their will?

The government refused to intervene on behalf of Teri Schiavo who faced certain death yet the they jump in with both feet to make medical decisions from the judges bench in this case.

Go figure.