from Part II - The Most Vulnerable of Us
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 May 2025
This chapter in Complex Ethics Consultations: Cases that Haunt Us, the authors describe a 9-year-old girl newly diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She experienced virtually every side effect, reducing the normally high cure rate to 20%–50%. When remission was short, she would need high-dose chemotherapy. The child repeatedly said she would rather die than go through more treatment. Her parents were aligned with her wishes. The attending physician thought withdrawal was paramount to child abuse and soon the decision was left to the court. Parents decided to permit low-dose chemotherapy. The family’s lawyer developed warm relationships with the family, while the ethicist was the “enemy,” representing the hospital. They feared for the patient, who died months later.
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