Cancer treatment fight will go to trial

Judge lifts order requiring teen to report to hospital

By Nancy Drury Duncan
Staff Writer

ACCOMAC -- Chincoteague teenager Starchild Abraham Cherrix, who has made national news as he fights in court for the right to choose alternative treatments for cancer, on Tuesday won his first battle before a judge.

Circuit Judge Glen A. Tyler suspended a Friday ruling from a lower court that required the 16-year-old Cherrix to report to a Norfolk hospital for immediate treatment of the Hodgkin's disease he was diagnosed with last fall.

Tyler also scheduled an Aug. 16 trial for Cherrix in his battle to seek alternative treatments for the cancer -- and not chemotherapy or radiation, which Cherrix has refused.

The case has prompted national interest because of the 16-year-old's intent to chose his own medical treatments, with his parents' support. A previous court ruling granted joint custody of the child to the boy's parents, Jay and Rose Cherrix, and the Accomack County Department of Social Services, which has asked the court to require conventional treatments.

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