Friend: Chemo Boy Responding To Forced Treatment
SLEEPY EYE, Minn. (AP) Jun 15, 2009
http://wcco.com/health/daniel.hauser.chemotherapy.2.1044999.html

X-rays show the tumor in the chest of a 13-year-old boy from rural Minnesota has
shrunk significantly after two courses of court-ordered chemotherapy, a family
spokesman said.

However, family friend and spokesman Daniel Zwakman said the side effects of the
treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma has left Danny Hauser weak and miserable at his
farm in Sleepy Eye.

"It affects him worse than most people," Zwakman said on Monday. It's been 11
days since his latest treatment and still "most of his day is spent on the
couch."

Danny received a single treatment of chemotherapy in February, but stopped after
enduring the harsh side effects. When Brown County authorities attempted to
compel the Hausers to treat the cancer conventionally, Danny and his mother fled
the state for about a week in May.

When they returned, a southern Minnesota court ordered them to see an
oncologist. Danny is now being treated at Children's Hospitals and Clinics in
Minneapolis.

Zwakman said Danny had treatments on May 28 and June 4. He's expected to receive
four more. The next one could be next week, but it hasn't been scheduled.

Zwakman said the teen and his family remain firmly against chemotherapy, but are
complying with the court order. "They are very adamant against having the
chemo," Zwakman said.

Despite its success at killing cancer cells, chemotherapy commonly causes nausea
and vomiting, fatigue, pain and weakness, and anxiety and depression.

Zwakman said Danny's mother has been giving him natural therapies in
consultation with Danny's oncologist. The Hausers practice alternative medicine
inspired by American Indian traditions.