Daniel Hauser's chemo is finished

The teen and his mother fled treatment until a judge said he must follow up.

By JANET MOORE, Star Tribune

Last update: September 4, 2009 - 10:47 PM

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Daniel Hauser, the Sleepy Eye teen who gained national attention for resisting court-ordered cancer treatment, has finished his chemotherapy and plans to celebrate with a pizza party at home with family and friends, a family spokesman said Friday.

Daniel is doing "very, very well,'' and his parents are thrilled, said Dan Zwakman, a family friend. The 13-year-old completed his chemotherapy Thursday at Children's Hospitals and Clinics in Minneapolis and is scheduled to start radiation treatment in October.

"It's really nice that he's done," his mother, Colleen Hauser, told the Associated Press. On Friday, Daniel was feeling a little sick after his final chemo treatment.

"He's throwing up and stuff like normal, but we keep him occupied with things outside, and that helps a whole lot," Colleen Hauser said.

Daniel, whose Hodgkin's lymphoma was diagnosed in January, triggered a nationwide search in May, when he and his mother fled the state to avoid court-ordered chemotherapy. His parents had refused conventional treatment, citing medical and religious objections, causing the Brown County attorney to seek court intervention.

Since resuming treatment, Daniel was supposed to have 10 chemotherapy sessions, but eight eliminated the tumor in his chest, Zwakman said.

"From the beginning, his progress was so good, he came through absolutely wonderfully,'' Zwakman said.

Each treatment was actually half the normal dose because the teen had an adverse reaction following an initial treatment last winter.

Even the lower doses produced side effects, including nausea, blurry vision and lack of appetite, Zwakman added.

Zwakman said Daniel's parents also think that natural therapies practiced by the family helped weaken the tumor before chemotherapy resumed.

Daniel became the focus of a national debate over the risks of chemotherapy and the use of natural treatments when he and his mother fled to southern California in an apparent effort to seek treatment in Mexico.

They returned to Minnesota five days later after a judge issued an arrest warrant, and the teen resumed chemotherapy in late May.

Janet Moore • 612-673-7752