No Plan B

Thanks to Fillyjonk for the first comment on my blog! I find her viewpoints thoughtful and interesting, and enjoy reading her daily musings.

I've been following the case of Daniel Hauser with some interest. He's the boy who disappeared with his mother after she refused chemotherapy for his cancer. I tend to look askance at alternative treatments that are used *instead* of conventional treatments, but I do understand the mother's pain and fear. There is nothing more devastating than learning your child has cancer. You fear the treatment will be almost as bad as the disease. After DD17's diagnosis, I remember the neurosurgeon saying she would need radiation and chemotherapy after brain surgery. I had to literally sit down and put my head between my knees to keep from passing out. It took a while to emerge from that bad place, but slowly you realize that there is no Plan B. You have to do this to try to achieve the best possible outcome.

Although childhood cancer rates have plummeted, the treatment is still harsh and most of the drugs have been around for many years. As I understand it, what has changed is better, more targeted radiation and surgical/diagnostic techniques. Still, research has been massively underfunded for a long time. Why? I can only guess because childhood cancer is relatively rare. But as long-term survivorship increases, we will probably see more issues with quality of life and side effects like we encountered. Certainly a trade-off we can live with. Maybe Mrs. Hauser will come to the same conclusion, and that will sustain her.