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Title: The State Tried Kidnapping this Amish Girl to Force Chemo on Her, She Fled and is Now Cancer Free
Source:
Free Thought Project
URL Source: http://thefreethoughtproject.com/st ... ncer-free/#gTX23GCRoQLFrcR4.99
Published: Oct 2, 2015
Author: John Vibes
Post Date: 2015-10-02 13:16:11 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 1087
Comments: 17
Akron, OH – After fleeing from government agents who wanted to kidnap her and put her through chemotherapy, an Amish girl who once had cancer is now entirely healthy. Sarah Hershberger, 12, was being treated at Akron Childrens Hospital, a government hospital, when the staff attempted to force her through chemotherapy despite the objections of her and her parents, Andy and Anna Hershberger. In June of 2013, Sarah was receiving chemotherapy at the hospital and her parents were convinced that it was making her condition worse, and putting her at risk for many other long-term health problems. “We were pretty sure we were going to lose her if we kept doing the chemo,” Anna Hershberger, Sarah’s mother said. The parents began to object the treatment and faced strong resistance from the hospital staff, who even took them to court and attempted to gain guardianship over Sarah. The doctors had testified that without receiving chemotherapy immediately, Sarah would die within six months. The family stood firm in their denial of the treatment, which prompted an intense legal battle. At one point during the ordeal, the family was forced to flee the country so she was not kidnaped by the hospital. Eventually, the family won in court, and it was decided that they had a legal and constitutional right to treat the cancer as they saw fit. Now, two years later, Sarah is not only still alive, but she is actually entirely healthy, and cancer-free. According to court records released this week, Sarah is no longer showing symptoms of lymphoma and she is back to her regular life. This recovery is in spite of the fact that doctors insisted that she would die without chemotherapy, to the extent that they would attempt to take her away from her parents. The mainstream media has been very pessimistic and cynical about Sarah’s case, and many of the media segments about her suggest that her family is irresponsible and that she is essentially on her deathbed. However, this is not the case, she is now healthy and has beaten cancer because her and her family decided to stand up against the strong-arm tactics of the state. The following clip was filmed during the legal battle in 2013: 
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#1. To: Deckard (#0)
Isn't FTP just recycling the original report (and video) from Reason? I'm not seeing any fresh info in this article that Reason didn't report last fall.
The side effects took their toll, and the Hershbergers feared for Sarah's well-being. They decided to discontinue treatment. "[The chemotherapy] was really good, but stopping at that point was the best investment we did," says Andy Hershberger, Sarah's father. "We were pretty sure we were going to lose her if we kept doing the chemo," says Anna Hershberger, Sarah's mother. The Hershbergers wanted to pursue a more natural treatment, then return to the chemotherapy if necessary. Ok, Reason had more of the skinny. Looks like from the above Sarah went through the initial treatments for Lymphoblastic lymphoma (LL). The parents are right, after one month of intense chemo (which Sarah went through) the body about gives out. Even young bodies. Most kids respond to the initial intense chemo well and are in remission within two weeks. It seems from what we have the parents refused the follow up treatments which according to 25+ years of medical studies, gives a 90-95% cure (not survival but full cure) rate for children. So it looks like the parents refused the 'maintenance' chemotherapy for an alternative method. It is their choice and eventually Sarah's choice to do so. Sadly, children who do not complete their maintenance chemotherapy are at a higher risk for recurrence within 3-5 years. Sarah may be doing well now (2 years later) based on her initial 'shock and awe' intense chemo treatments.
These cancer strategies are tricky. So for something like a given type of lymphoma, you'll get medical info along the lines of "70% are cancer-free for 5 years after the full chemo treatment but only 55% are cancer-free if they don't do the followup chemo". I know you have a strong personal interest in this topic. I hope all is well on the home front. No doubt, you've done a lot of reading on the subject.
Thanks for asking. My son is doing well. Now 16, healthy and a typical know it all teen:) Thankfully he has a dad who still remembers being like that:) Mom not so much. Yes we received a crash course in genetics when he received his first treatment series. His leukemia was a "common" type so the treatment regimen was well known and attested. The oncologists use a genetics screening to determine the response to treatments. By God's Grace my son was a high score. Higher being better. To see the doctors exhale from seeing those results told me they know more about how a kid will respond to treatments from that one test. They were able to tell us that my son would be in full remission within 2 weeks with a 95% confidence. What they could not tell us was how his body would endure treatments. The parents of Sarah had to make a tough decision. I hope for their case whatever followup alternative treatments she is getting has some sort of track record or data available to inform the parents of success rate. Given the parents are Amish and not very "technical" they have to rely on others for information. It is the choice of two risks. May God Bless and keep Sarah and her family. You are right about the various percentages. For example, colon cancer a big killer of the middle aged and elderly if found in stage 3a (cancer has penetrated lymph nodes) has two basic categories. The first is if you have the surgery to remove the cancer but don't do the chemotherapy there is a 50/50% chance of recurrence. If you have both the surgery and chemotherapy the cure rate goes up to 70% with recurrence down to 30% Some of us just draw that 30%
I always think of that. A 90% cure rate isn't any comfort if you're one of the 10%. Still, I think nearly everyone prefers to have the choice. Well, at least as long as someone else has to pay the costs of treatment (which are ridiculously overpriced). I hope you're not telling us that you've had any recent bad news.
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#3. To: TooConservative, Deckard (#1)
For nearly a year, 11-year-old Sarah Hershberger has simultaneously been battling cancer and a court case. Last April, she was diagnosed with lymphoblastic lymphoma, a rare cancer. Her doctor encouraged her to immediately start chemotherapy, and she quickly began her first treatment.
#9. To: redleghunter (#3)
Sarah may be doing well now (2 years later) based on her initial 'shock and awe' intense chemo treatments.
#11. To: TooConservative (#9)
I know you have a strong personal interest in this topic. I hope all is well on the home front. No doubt, you've done a lot of reading on the subject.
#12. To: redleghunter (#11)
(Edited)
Some of us just draw that 30%
Some of us just draw that 30%
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