Tamar

http://godless.biz/2009/10/14/parents-choose-mud-instead-of-chemo/

This footage has to be seen to be believed.
Tamar, a 14 year old girl from West Australia, was diagnosed with liver cancer. The doctors recommended a seven week course of chemotherapy, after which they estimated she would have a 50% to 60% chance of survival. The parents refused to authorise the treatment opting for a course of natural remedies instead. In response the hospital pleaded with the parents go proceed with the treatment to save Tamars life and even went to the extraordinary steps of employing the States legal system, eventually being elevated to the supreme court.
The day before the hearing, the parents fled to El Salvador to shack up in one of the worst suburbs of the dangerous and violent country. Surrounded by crazed gang wars where 14 people die every day, the parents trek into the hills for the magical mud they hope will save their daughter. The mother is convinced the red mud dries up anything that is causing illness in your system. In conjunction with a herbal tea the parents believe their daughters cancer will be cured.
Where do people get such a whacky idea? This pearl of wisdom came from a decades old book the mothers grandfather picked up in Honduras called Heath and cures with herbs. The book was apparently written by a doctor, so the parents have decided to place their trust in it while ignoring the modern day doctors, who have demonstrated scientific data to back up their treatments.
The father, a devotee Christian, trusts God will either take his child or save her (what other options are there). Either way the father will praise God for the decision he makes. One wonders what the daughter thinks of all this.
There is a short clip near the end of this piece where they ask Tamar her opinions. To me it sounds like she was told both options are equally effective, but one made your hair fall out. Now you tell me, what would you do given these options if you were a 14 year old girl?
The parents misguided and deadly faith in the reality detached tome will kill their child

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Chemotherapy
• Doctors
• Faith
• Medicine
• Western
• Australia
• Mud
• Tea
• Children
• Cancer
• Death

[pointmanzero]

Shes dead now.

Found it on skepticsbook

I'm glad these parents have to live with this for the rest of their lives.

[askegg]

That is so sad. I wonder what the authorities will do with the grief struck parents now?

[creationismisstupid]

Are they living in the same country as the Open Universities of Australia and other top univiversities, Charles Sturt?

Ken Ham isn't the only retard that grew up in Australia.

[askegg]

CSU is in New South Wales and Open is remote distance learning. I think Ken is from Queensland.

[Raptor302]

They never seem to take a leap of faith with their own lives, do they?

[JesusSavesAtCitibank]

Any way you look at it, FAITH HAS ALWAYS BEEN A KILLER!

[Ruzhyo2000]

How do people grow to become so stupid? I mean, bother parents had to be in on this right? That means TWO PEOPLE had to AGREE that this was the best course of action for their daughter. What are the odds that these two idiots would pair up? I am so glad I was born to rational parents, who favor reason over superstition.

[pointmanzero]

No info on the parents.

The only thing I found was that apparently a couple of weeks before she died they rushed her to a hospital to start chemo. Too little too late.

I hope they have a hard time looking in the mirror now. 50-60% chance was a great chance for that little girl.

[pointmanzero]

Does anyone have an update?

Is she dead yet?

I thought about her today and can't find an update on her condition online.

[Chemicalogic]

Religious irrationality: 1

Poor little girl: 0

Chalk up another victory, in the blood of dead girl, for the jealous space god.

[porbello9]

Her parents should be locked up, end of story. Religion and children do not mix.

[askegg]

That's not the case here. The doctors are recommending a treatment with known pathways to remedy and verifiable survival numbers.

The parents have forgone all of that of behalf of their daughter in favour of a treatment with absolute no proven track record. This is not a wise decision.

Let's stick with real world data rather than wishful thinking, ok?

[TheFlST]

People never learn. There is NO FUCKING herbal remedy for CANCER.

[KasparHauser4]

I don't believe in the healing power of mud. Unfortunately many do and a lot of other naturalistic cures. When you are talking about the fate of children all of this becomes very very controversial. What wasn't stressed enough was that the chances of survival even with the chemo therapy was only 50 to 60%. Not exactly great odds when you are talking about a life.

They seem sincere in their beliefs. It is tragic but understandable.