Judge rules that 3-year-old child with leukaemia must get chemo against parents’ wishes

A judge has ruled that a three-year-old child with leukaemia must continue with chemotherapy, after his parents pulled him out of treatment and fled the state.

The child, Noah McAdams, was diagnosed with leukaemia in April and had started chemotherapy at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. But his parents, Joshua McAdams, 27, and Taylor Bland-Ball, 22, said that the treatment made Noah violent and caused him to suffer from mood swings.

Bland-Ball said that after 10 days of treatment, test results showed no sign of cancer cells, and that they were allowed to leave the hospital. She and McAdams then wanted to get a second opinion about natural treatment options, a decision she said Johns Hopkins did not like.

In an interview with NBC News, Bland-Ball claimed that she wants to oppose the ruling, stating:

"We left and we went up to Kentucky. … We just wanted the time to get our second opinion ... This is not about whether we’re choosing natural therapies, alternative therapies. This is about our rights as parents to seek other options ... I think it’s really important that people know that there are other options other than chemotherapy, and I think this really opened up a good discussion on parental rights, about patient rights."

The family’s attorney  Michael Minardi says that Bland-Ball and McAdams want to treat Noah with medical marijuana, CBD oil, diet and vitamins, stating: "While we were disappointed he has to start chemotherapy tomorrow, we are encouraged the judge gives him an opportunity to use additional treatments to treat him, to not only help him have less side effects from the chemotherapy [but to] help kill the cancer."

The judge has now ruled that Noah is to complete another month of chemo. Afterwards, his doctors will reevaluate him and determine whether or not he still has cancer. However, his parents have not been restricted from using alternative treatments, such as medical marijuana, during this time.