Medical Non-Compliance = Murder in Massachussetts

 A visit to a medical doctor frequently results in the patient leaving with a prescription for medication. Not all patients fill the prescription at a pharmacy. 20-30% of prescriptions in the US are never filled.

One factor to consider is the increasing popularity for alternative medicine, either in place of or conjunction with regimens outlined by a medical doctor. Many hospitals and clinics across the nation are combining conventional medicine with complementary treatments. Not so for pediatric cancer patients.

Depression is also a risk factor in non-compliance.

Other major medication non-compliance issues include: 

·        discontinuing taking your medication prematurely,

·        not filling or refilling a prescription due to:

·        finances, 

·        preference for self care measures other than medication, 

·        perceived lack of benefit

·        convenience

·        denial.

A study done at Ohio State University published by the American Medical Association in 2008 showed a rate of 48 percent  non-compliance with Pediatric Cancer Regimen with depressed patients. There would have been a national outcry of rage if those families had been tried for attempted murder.

A similar situation  exists with Kristin LaBrie, a mother of an autistic child who is being treated for depression. The jury convicted her of the murder of her son Jeremy Fraser because she did not give all of the medications ordered for his non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The chance that his death was caused by non-compliance (85% - 90 % survival rate with full compliance of all 5 stages of chemotherapy)  is as high as the chance that diagnosis of Leukemia (1 in 10 patients develop a second cancer within 10 years after receiving chemotherapy) was actually caused by the chemotherapy prescribed by the doctor.

Our society has regressed. Kristin LaBrie is from Salem, Massachusetts home of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. This is one of our nations most tarnishing events. The 319 years of advancements in technology, medicine, and a democratic government don't seem to have overcome the misogynistic treatment of women.

Increasing Teen Suicides

Jon Carmichael,  an eighth grader died of suicide yesterday in Joshua Texas. Celebrity Marie Osmond's eighteen year old son Michael Blosil died of suicide  last month on February 26th.  Suicide is the third leading cause of death among  ages 15 - 24 and fourth for ages 10 - 14 according to the American Acadamy of Pediatrics.  The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta states that 60% of high school students have thought about committing suicide, and approximately 9% have tried killing themselves at least once.  According to the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH), about 8 out of every 100,000 teenagers committed suicide in 2000. For every teen suicide death, experts estimate there are 10 other teen suicide attempts.
Bulling - an age old problem is one of the major causes and has garnered recent headlines. Social Media such as Facebook and twitter with use of cellphones increases the indiscriminate behavior exponentially leaving children the feeling of having no way out, no where to hide because of the brutal invasion of their privacy.  Anti-Bullying laws are being passed and many school districts are now focusing on recognition and prevention.

According to the Massachusetts 2006 Youth Risk Survey, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. In addition, the San Francisco State University Chavez Center Institute has found that LGBTQ youth who come from a rejecting family are up to nine times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers.


Signs that a teen may be contemplating suicide:

• Talks about death and/or suicide (maybe even with a joking manner).
• Plans ways to kill him or herself.
• Expresses worries that nobody cares about him or her.
• Has attempted suicide in the past.
• Dramatic changes in personality and behavior.
• Withdraws from interacting with friends and family.
• Shows signs of depression.
• Shows signs of a substance abuse problem.
• Begins to act recklessly and engage in risk-taking behaviors.
• Begins to give away sentimental possessions.
• Spends time online interacting with people who glamorize suicide and maybe even form suicide pacts

I've known people who have said there were no signs leading up to the suicide. In my small rural and very religious home town the boy who was slated to be the valedictorian, who was the quarterback on the football team and active in his church was found dead by his father - shot with the gun he'd given him earlier that year as a gift. We need to recognize that teens have a high stress life. We should help them to de-stress, relax, and find healthy ways to let out the steam. Give them a safe place, trusted person to where they can come when they need help. Don't let their pleas go unheard. Silence is not a sign of safety.

Resources for Teenage Suicide Prevention:
Free Teen Suicide Hotline The National Suicide Prevention Directory
Youth Suicide Prevention Program Focus Adolescent Services
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 1-800-273-8255
Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program , Trevor Project
Author Jodi Piccoult wrote about this phenomenon in her novel The Pact.  A new YA novel that includes this issue as part of a subplot is Summer in Paris by Michelle Ashman Bell.