Hodgkins (left) has a 90 per cent cure rate in children treated with chemotherapy and radiation, but the survival rate drops to 5 per cent without those treatments. -- PHOTO: AP
SLEEPY EYE (Minnesota) - THE father of a 13-year-old cancer-stricken boy who went on the run with his mother to avoid chemotherapy treatment pleaded on Thursday for the return of his son, asking his wife to 'do what's best for Danny'.
Daniel Hauser has Hodgkins' lymphoma, a highly curable cancer when treated with chemotherapy and radiation. But the Hausers preferred alternative remedies, and Daniel and his mother fled on Monday, a day before a court hearing that could have resulted in a judge ordering chemotherapy.
A holistic approach to cancer
The American Cancer Society estimates that 35 to 50 clinics along the Mexican border attract cancer patients looking for alternatives to traditional US treatment methods. Many have offices in San Diego that serve as contact points for US patients.
The Hausers favour natural healing methods inspired by American Indian traditions, but several doctors have testified Daniel's cancer will likely kill him without chemotherapy. Colleen and Daniel Hauser left their home in Sleepy Eye on Monday afternoon when a court-ordered X-ray showed that a tumour in his chest was growing.
The two were seen in Southern California on Tuesday morning and authorities have said they could be in Mexico.
The sheriff's office in Brown County, Minnesota, issued a felony arrest warrant Thursday for Colleen Hauser and the FBI was helping with the search. The warrant was for deprivation of parental rights, and an earlier arrest warrant was based on a contempt of court charge.
If convicted on the new charges, she faces up to two years in jail on each of two counts, plus fines. But authorities said they issued the new warrant mainly to ease her extradition if she is found in the United States.
Doctors said it was critical that Daniel Hauser get medical care soon. Hodgkins has a 90 per cent cure rate in children treated with chemotherapy and radiation, but the survival rate drops to 5 per cent without those treatments.
The St Paul-based National Health Freedom Coalition, which assists legal efforts nationwide to increase access to alternative medicine, called the Hausers 'heroes for health freedom' in a statement.
Daniel and his parents had testified that the chemotherapy made him sick, and that they feared it would ultimately kill him.
But Anthony Hauser has reversed course and was cooperating with investigators. -- AP
