Cassandra C. is a 17-year-old girl who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Cassandra C. refused treatment for her cancer with the full support of her mother, Jackie Fortin, and their decisions pitted them against Cassandra’s doctors, the lower court system, and eventually the Connecticut Supreme Court (Macklin, 2015). This paper discusses the ethical dilemma posed by Cassandra’s case and will include the ethical principles of patient autonomy, which means “that individuals have the right to determine their own actions and the freedom to make their own decisions” (Black & Chitty, 2013, pg. 97), beneficence, which means “the doing of good” (Black & Chitty, 2013, pg. pg. 97), and nonmaleficence, which is defined “as the duty to do no harm”
…show more content…
was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in September 2014. At Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (CCMC) in Hartford, Connecticut, Cassandra underwent surgery to remove a lymph node, which confirmed her diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. However, Cassandra and her mother wanted a second opinion to confirm the diagnosis (“The Truth About Cancer,” 2015). CCMC refused to do a second biopsy, and Cassandra and her mother tried to get a second biopsy at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts (“The Truth About Cancer,” 2015). In her interview, The medical kidnapping of Cassandra C, Cassandra reported that Baystate felt that a second biopsy was unnecessary and that Cassandra needed to immediately start chemotherapy (“The Truth About Cancer,” 2015). When Cassandra missed several of her doctor’s appointments, the Hospital reported her case to the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), who officially took custody of Cassandra in December. 2014 (” Teenager Forced,” 2014). DCF hospitalized Cassandra at CCMC and forced her to undergo surgery to have port placed in her chest and then forced her to undergo chemotherapy treatments (” Teenager Forced,” 2014). According to Cassandra, “I was strapped to a bed by my wrists and ankles and sedated” (” Teenager Forced,” 2014). Cassandra also had her phone taken away and was not allowed to see her mother without a child welfare worker present (Macklin, 2015). In April 2015, Cassandra’s cancer went into …show more content…
The medical professionals could have allowed Cassandra time to harvest her eggs, alleviating her fear that she could be left infertile after chemotherapy treatment and perhaps increasing the chances of her cooperating with treatment. The hospital could have arranged for Cassandra to talk to other young survivors of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which would have given Cassandra a perspective different than the one she was receiving at home, and it might seem insignificant, but allowing a Certified Cosmetic Therapists show Cassandra all the different wigs she could choose and how natural they can look might have relieved her fears of being bald, something no 17-year-old wants to be.
Cultural Influence
America has a science-based culture, one that doctors firmly embrace, and this conflicted with Cassandra’s belief that vitamins and lifestyle changes might possibly cure her cancer (”Teenager Forced,” 2014). The courts sided with science, but was it worth the cost to her? In a culture that believes more in natural healing, Cassandra’s case could have turned out completely different, but at what cost? We will never know.
The
was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in September 2014. At Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (CCMC) in Hartford, Connecticut, Cassandra underwent surgery to remove a lymph node, which confirmed her diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. However, Cassandra and her mother wanted a second opinion to confirm the diagnosis (“The Truth About Cancer,” 2015). CCMC refused to do a second biopsy, and Cassandra and her mother tried to get a second biopsy at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts (“The Truth About Cancer,” 2015). In her interview, The medical kidnapping of Cassandra C, Cassandra reported that Baystate felt that a second biopsy was unnecessary and that Cassandra needed to immediately start chemotherapy (“The Truth About Cancer,” 2015). When Cassandra missed several of her doctor’s appointments, the Hospital reported her case to the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), who officially took custody of Cassandra in December. 2014 (” Teenager Forced,” 2014). DCF hospitalized Cassandra at CCMC and forced her to undergo surgery to have port placed in her chest and then forced her to undergo chemotherapy treatments (” Teenager Forced,” 2014). According to Cassandra, “I was strapped to a bed by my wrists and ankles and sedated” (” Teenager Forced,” 2014). Cassandra also had her phone taken away and was not allowed to see her mother without a child welfare worker present (Macklin, 2015). In April 2015, Cassandra’s cancer went into …show more content…
The medical professionals could have allowed Cassandra time to harvest her eggs, alleviating her fear that she could be left infertile after chemotherapy treatment and perhaps increasing the chances of her cooperating with treatment. The hospital could have arranged for Cassandra to talk to other young survivors of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which would have given Cassandra a perspective different than the one she was receiving at home, and it might seem insignificant, but allowing a Certified Cosmetic Therapists show Cassandra all the different wigs she could choose and how natural they can look might have relieved her fears of being bald, something no 17-year-old wants to be.
Cultural Influence
America has a science-based culture, one that doctors firmly embrace, and this conflicted with Cassandra’s belief that vitamins and lifestyle changes might possibly cure her cancer (”Teenager Forced,” 2014). The courts sided with science, but was it worth the cost to her? In a culture that believes more in natural healing, Cassandra’s case could have turned out completely different, but at what cost? We will never know.
The