Case 26: Refusal of Life-Sustaining Treatment by a Minor

This is a very unfortunate situation, but an extremely realistic one as well. Pediatric oncology is nothing short of upsetting, but as nurses we must face the fact that we will see this at one point or another if we haven’t encountered it in our personal lives already. While the parents of this situation do not want to live their life without their son, Jimmy, he should definitely be able to participate in the decisions that are made about his life. However, with him being only 11 years old, it would be difficult to leave the decision solely up to him. If the parents were to make the final decision, I believe the oncologist should advise them to also take their son’s wishes into major consideration. It is his life, and if he is accepting of his death and ready to be with God, then the parents need to begin the accepting process as well. While the chemotherapy might extend Jimmy’s life by a few months, what kind of few months will that be for Jimmy? Surely it would be months of more pain and suffering with the same outcome as if he did not receive the treatment at all.