Cancer Boy's Parents Win 'Amputation' Fight

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http://campaignfortruth.com/Eclub/210404/CTM-cancer-germany.htm

 

 

Cancer Boy's Parents Win 'Amputation' Fight

by Michel Leidig

 

German Court Rules against social services in favour of couple who want to use

alternative therapy to treat their son's disease

 

A couple who lost custody of their young son to social services after insisting

that his bone cancer was treated using alternative medicine last week won a

lengthy legal battle to get him back.

 

Dominik Feld, 9, became a cause celebre in Germany after his parents, Josef and

Anke, defied a leading oncologist's advice that their son's right leg should be

amputated if they wanted to save his life and stop the disease spreading.

 

When the specialist, Dr Heribert Jurgens, also warned that Dominik had a less

than one-in-five chance of survival with chemotherapy, the Felds decided to

pursue " cell therapy " treatment instead, involving high doses of vitamins and

minerals.

 

Perturbed, Dr Jurgens tipped off officials from Germany's social services, who

decided that the Felds were not acting in Dominik's best interests. In November

2003, they obtained a court order to remove the boy from his parents' custody.

The order prompted a heated debate in Germany over parental rights, particularly

as Dominik's cancer seemed to improve while he was receiving the cell therapy

treatment.

 

While the Felds, from Siegen in central Germany, appealed against the decision,

protesters staged rallies outside the high court in Koblenz each time a hearing

was set. A family petition attracted more than 30,000 signatures. Donations from

supporters helped to fund their appeal and temporary injunctions brought by the

Felds to ensure that the cell therapy continued.

 

During the five-month legal tussle, which culminated in last week's victory in

the high court, Dominik remained in hospital, officially in the care of social

services. The amputation was postponed.

 

Last week Mrs Feld, 38, told The Sunday Telegraph: " We are delighted - but the

best gift of all will be when Dominik returns to full health. We are not against

conventional medicine, nor in favour of unproven alternative medicine, but when

there are medically proven alternatives from qualified professionals, we believe

it is the right and duty of parents to choose what they want for their child, "

she said. " The conventional treatment we were offered had a less than 20 per

cent chance of success and as a result we had no alternative but to look for

something that would give our son a better chance of survival. "

 

Mr Feld, 41, a mechanical engineer, said: " The whole family is delighted about

the court decision. Dominik had his ninth birthday on Monday and this was the

best birthday and Easter present we could hope for. We have had the catheters

removed that were used for chemotherapy this week. We won't need them any more,

although the cell therapy is continuing. "

 

The Felds, who also have four daughters aged five to 17, realised that Dominik

was ill in September 2002. " The bottom fell out of our world, " said Mrs Feld. He

had been playing football and fell badly and hurt his leg. " When we took him to

the hospital they thought it was broken and put his leg in a cast. He was in a

lot of pain and when he was examined in more detail they discovered the cancer. "

 

Dr Jurgens, a specialist at Munster University Hospital, claimed that the

osteosarcoma in Dominik's right leg was too advanced for treatment to be

worthwhile, and insisted that only amputation would save his life. Dr Jurgens

also said that the cancer had spread to his lungs and that strong doses of

chemotherapy were necessary.

 

The Felds agreed to the chemotherapy but watched their son grow progressively

weaker and his weight fall to just 35lb. Seeking a second opinion, they heard

about a method pioneered by Dr Matthew Rath, an alternative health " guru " who is

a qualified doctor but prefers to promote natural cures for his patients. In

this treatment, cancerous tissues could be removed from bone marrow - avoiding

the need for amputation - and the cell therapy substituted for chemotherapy.

 

Mrs Feld said that they were just in time to stop the amputation. " We looked

everywhere for an alternative and it was only at the last minute, with hours to

go before the operation, that we were told a hospital in Munich believed that

they could operate to remove the tumour and save the leg, " she said. " That was

in December 2002. We allowed him to continue on chemotherapy but stopped it in

May last year. After allowing him to regain his strength, we started him on the

cell therapy in June. "

 

The Felds later received a letter from social services warning them that Munster

University felt that Dominik was not being treated properly. Their right to care

for their son was subsequently removed.

 

Dr Rath who helped the Felds with their " Save Dominik " campaign, maintains that

under his care the boy's condition has improved.

 

" The X-ray CT (computed tomography) images of Dominik's lungs speak for

themselves, " Dr Rath said. " The lung metastases present one year ago have

completely vanished. It is, therefore, clear that cancer is curable by natural

means. "

 

He said he had no doubt that Dominik would beat his cancer if his parents agreed

to their son continuing the cell therapy.

 

Dr Jurgens, however, has served Dr Rath with a court order barring him from

calling him a " drug industry lackey " and dismissed Dr Rath's claims that

Dominik's health has improved.

 

" The truth of the matter is that a patient appears to be doing better when in

fact the cancer is spreading. It is simply that the symptoms appear to have

ameliorated somewhat, " he said. " But that does not change the long-term

prognosis, nor does it mean that therapy ought to be set aside. "

 

The family remains optimistic. Dominik says he feels better when treated with

cell therapy and wants to carry on with it. His parents point out that the

cancer removed from Dominik's leg during surgery has not returned.

 

" We are not capable of seeing the future, but we are very optimistic, " said Mr

Feld.

 

" There are no traces of the cancer in his lungs and although there are still

cancer cells in his blood, they are no longer active. From now on, it's just a

question of waiting - and of hope. "

The Sunday Telegraph, 11th April 2004

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Glad to see such news! Gives us all some hope! Hooray for those

parents and their boy! Thanks for posting, Frank!

 

Elliot