Working with what you’ve got

There is an ongoing story, currently being covered on MSNBC, about a 13-year-old boy from Minnesota who has Hodgkin’s disease. In truth, I don’t have enough information to write very intelligently about the details of this specific situation, but I was interested to hear from any of you who might be reading my blog about how you might approach this case. From what I understand, the boy has had one round of chemotherapy and possibly some “alternative” treatments that are not further specified in the article (my quotation marks are not meant to disparage complementary medicine, but rather to show that I am using the word that was used in the article).

At this point in time, the boy does not want any further chemotherapy and has evidently indicated that he will do everything he can to physically resist the administration of chemotherapy. In fact, at the time this blog is being posted, authorities nationwide are searching for the boy and his mother who did not appear for court on Monday and believe that they may be fleeing to Mexico. (Please see the article for updated developments in the story.)

My immediate reaction is that this boy needs treatment, and he needs it now. Hodgkins’ disease is a potentially quite curable malignancy that is deadly if untreated. And while I think that’s the right answer, the truth is that the situation is what it is — the boy and his parents don’t want treatment. Legalities aside — even if everyone agrees that the boy should and must be treated — I would imagine that it would be hard to guide this child through a full course of treatment if he is kicking and screaming the whole way through. 13-year-olds are pretty strong.

So — my short answer is that I have no answer. But I do want to ask the question of anyone who is reading this blog: if you were one of this child’s health care providers, what would you do? How would you approach the child, and how would you approach his parents? What kinds of things would you do to try to shepherd this boy to safety and a chance at a full life? I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts.