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Treat her till she's sick!

January 2, 2007 permalink

Last October the press told the story of Tayler Diamond, a nine-year-old girl in remission from leukemia, who was forced into chemo-therapy through the intervention of children's aid over the objections of her mother.

The girl has been on a schedule of three treatments a week at McMaster since October, where her counts are holding up well. Suggesting that the last fifteen weeks of treatment have been deficient, the doctor, Carol Portwine, wants to change the schedule and increase the dosage. Mother Lisa Diamond fears a change in treatment could push the girl into the life-threatening septic-shock she experienced from earlier treatment. The mother has been treated with such disrespect by the current doctor (they change monthly) that Tayler has to leave the room. Dr Portwine is the same doctor who originally brought children's aid into the case.

Tomorrow is the funeral for another child, Bradley Campbell, 15, also given chemo-therapy during remission, whose cancer returned during the treatment.

sequential