konceptual99

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Posts by konceptual99

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  38

  We're Ashya Kings parents right?

  by The Rebel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you remember the case?

  jehovers witness parents did a runner without telling the medical staff caring for their seriously ill child and took him to receive proton therapy in praque as this treatment was not available in the u.k.. first most importantly the good news, the boy was declared cancer free last march.. anyway i am sure at the time this issue would have created a lot of heated debate on the forum, as it was a case that created a media frenzy, with the parents and their jehovers witness religious beliefs being heavily critizised .

  however as i followed the case i couldn't help but admire the parents, as i felt they would have acted indepentedly of both the jehovers witness organisation and the u.k medical advice, having in my opinion seriously thought the matter through, and then doing they thought was the best way for treatment.. so if you remember the case my questions are:-.

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  konceptual99

  Good post Nicolaou.
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  38

  We're Ashya Kings parents right?

  by The Rebel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you remember the case?

  jehovers witness parents did a runner without telling the medical staff caring for their seriously ill child and took him to receive proton therapy in praque as this treatment was not available in the u.k.. first most importantly the good news, the boy was declared cancer free last march.. anyway i am sure at the time this issue would have created a lot of heated debate on the forum, as it was a case that created a media frenzy, with the parents and their jehovers witness religious beliefs being heavily critizised .

  however as i followed the case i couldn't help but admire the parents, as i felt they would have acted indepentedly of both the jehovers witness organisation and the u.k medical advice, having in my opinion seriously thought the matter through, and then doing they thought was the best way for treatment.. so if you remember the case my questions are:-.

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  konceptual99

  Public opinion was tainted by some reports implying a link with the Kings being Witnesses. This quickly changed when the story changed to it being about the persecution of parents just trying to do the right thing.

  The medical staff were demonised which clouded rational discussion of the facts.
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  24

  Reveal News: "Jehovah’s Witnesses fight law on reporting child sex abuse to police" by Trey Bundy

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  https://www.revealnews.org/blog/jehovahs-fight-law-requiring-child-sex-abuse-be-reported-to-police/.

  jehovah’s witnesses fight law on reporting child sex abuse to police.

  trey bundy, february 1, 2016 .

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  konceptual99

  This of course also makes a mockery of Jackson's plea to the ARC to take the responsibility off the organisation and enforce mandatory reporting. Where they have it they then argue they have ecclesiastical privilege....
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  10

  Swedish Chef at February tv.jw.org Broadcasting

  by Gorbatchov in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it seems the producers of jw broadcasting read my earlier post here at jwd.org about the swedish chef.. because they introduces the swedish chef in their program now.

  .

  the broadcasting is surprising me more and more every month, a must see (if you can).. compare:.

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  konceptual99

  Love it!
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  18

  90 minutes from Wembley ......

  by The Rebel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  which ever country you come from, if you are a football fan you know of the f.a cup.

  because the f.a cup is the oldest and most prestigious cup competition in the world.

  or at least that's the way it was when i was a kid.. now this wonderful competition has been cheapened to a non event.

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  konceptual99

  I know what you mean. When I was a boy the country stopped for the FA cup. It still retains it's magic I think during the 3rd-5th rounds but the final is not the event it once was.

  Regardless I am not sure about the CL place for the winner. Are there any rules that determine how places for CL and Europa can be allocated?
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  38

  We're Ashya Kings parents right?

  by The Rebel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you remember the case?

  jehovers witness parents did a runner without telling the medical staff caring for their seriously ill child and took him to receive proton therapy in praque as this treatment was not available in the u.k.. first most importantly the good news, the boy was declared cancer free last march.. anyway i am sure at the time this issue would have created a lot of heated debate on the forum, as it was a case that created a media frenzy, with the parents and their jehovers witness religious beliefs being heavily critizised .

  however as i followed the case i couldn't help but admire the parents, as i felt they would have acted indepentedly of both the jehovers witness organisation and the u.k medical advice, having in my opinion seriously thought the matter through, and then doing they thought was the best way for treatment.. so if you remember the case my questions are:-.

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  konceptual99

  In answer to the OP...

  I think Ashya's parents were right to push the medical team on the options possible. I have personal experience of the exact same team at Southampton General and, whilst they are excellent clinicians, it is never wrong to push them on what else could be done and the pros and cons of pursuing a particular option.

  Were they right to go as far as they did? Not in the way they did it. Whilst they took many steps to try and care for Ashya they failed to keep the medical team onside which presented by far the biggest risk to his health.

  Could I have done what they did? Perhaps. I am a parent. I have watched family members and others face terminal cancer and know exactly the emotions that run through you when wanting to do everything possible to take the pain and suffering away.

  I have a family member who is in the same congregation as the Kings in Portsmouth and was closely involved in helping them in when Ashya was ill in hospital. From conversations with them, I don't believe that the Kings were acting completely rationally when they did what they did. I understand why they did it but it could have been handled in a much better way. The Kings are known, apparently, for being the sort of people who form an opinion, stick to it and don't really care what others think about it. If they believe they are right then they have the courage of their convictions to face criticism.

  This can be an admirable quality. The problem is that your decisions have to be sound.

  The fact was that the hospital had already done the biggest thing in saving Ashya's life - taken the tumour out. Medically, if the tumour had not been operable then the poor lad's prognosis would have been very bad. Surgery is the primary treatment. The standard protocol for supporting treatment for many cancers is radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The former is designed to try and destroy the cancer cells that remain after surgery. The latter is designed to help damage cancer cells and stop them replicating. Typically one would have a course of RT lasting a few weeks, maybe alongside chemo, then a following and longer time on chemo.

  The desired outcome is that the tumour is prevented from returning. For some cancers it may be possible that this could be many years (e.g. 5-10+), for others it may be just a few months. This is complicated by many factors such as age, type of cancer, how advanced it is, surgical success, response to adjunctive treatment and so on.

  The Kings naturally tried to find out as much as they could about RT and CT. The internet is awash with information on cancer. It ranges from highly medical and technical right through to some outrageous claims that have zero scientific backing. The biggest problem is that people are looking for the magic word "cure". Many cancers cannot be cured. You may have long term remission but many will come back eventually. The trouble is that much of the claims on the internet use the word cure or relate stories that imply a cure when in fact there is zero evidence to suggest the individual outcome would have been any different.

  Many standard forms of RT will have side effects including swelling and nausea . Often a person will have to wear a constrictive head mask during treatment. I would expect that Ashya would need to be sedated each time, probably daily, to prevent him getting too distressed. The radio beam has to go through tissue to hit the cancer area and then carries on going. It will damage healthy tissue. Sometimes that damage can be permanent but not always.

  Chemo is often horrible. I completely understand why the Kings would want to avoid this but the treatment is individual and there is no saying exactly how a person will respond. Not only that, often the statistics for longer term positive outcomes are directly related to the use and success of the chemo.

  Proton Beam is just another form of RT. The benefit is that the way the beam is delivered means it does not travel past the point of focus. The effect on surrounding tissue is reduced therefore the side effects are less. It is still an emerging technology so determining the best circumstances for it's use are still coming out.

  I think the Kings were right to try and get second opinions on the likely effectiveness of proton beam. The team at Southampton are world class - but they don't work with PB every day. The opinion of the specialists that it was inappropriate should have been questioned however this could have been done in a far less confrontational way. I think they were wrong to allow the situation with the medical team to get to the point there was such a loss of trust.

  Frankly the Kings got lucky on this one. Perhaps the team at Southampton were wrong but if not then the PB would have been useless. In the end there was some collaboration between the doctors but the Kings did not know that would happen when they removed Ashya. If the PB has been as successful as standard RT likey would then that's great but it could have been different.

  The refusal to use chemo is questionable IMHO. It's their decision but the empirical evidence is clear. Statistically it increases the risk the cancer will return more quickly.

  The Kings continue to insist that they did the right thing both publicly and privately. They insist Ashya is cured and are using his current good progress to justify their actions. Their focus on PB as some kind of miracle procedure, refusal to try chemo and lack of caution when describing Ashya's progress reflect the parents personalities. I sympathise with their actions but my understanding is that Brett King is the sort of guy who does not like to back down. Cancer is no respecter of defiance and time will tell how well Ashya does.
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  22

  Daily Mirror article about JWs destroying evidence

  by Tornintwo in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i can't see another thread but maybe i missed it:.

  http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/jehovahs-witnesses-paedophile-sex-abuse-7278824#comments-section.

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  konceptual99

  For anyone doubting that elders were instructed to destroy records, see the following letter brought to light by the ARC:
  http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/downloadfile.ashx?guid=a7bc923d-41b0-4b46-89df-00e45f61da97&type=exhibit&filename=WAT.0001.004.0049&fileextension=pdf

  Nobody is arguing that elders have never been instructed to destroy certain information. The above letter is talking about written records that potentially could be requested by individuals under laws like the UK's Data Protection Act. The WTS wants to protect elders and themselves from legal exposure were some numpty elder has written some personal and/or defamatory comments in their JC notes.

  A side benefit of this is of course plausible deniability were records to be subpoenaed in a civil or criminal case.

  BOEs have had separate instructions about record keeping specifically to do with child abuse cases. This is different to the instructions above.

  The most recent letter in the UK, the one being referred to in the Mirror article, is the yearly reminder on auditing the congregation and elders' files to ensure any of the records that are discussed the letter referenced above have been destroyed. It specifically excludes records related to child abuse.

  There are many questions that could be asked about what the processes described above that would be embarrassing to the WTS. There are also plenty of questions that could be asked as to why the WTS in the UK has not instructed BOEs to maintain all their records in line with the direction provided by the UK Inquiry that will be doing a similar task to the ARC. There are many questions that could be asked about how accurately the instructions are followed to ensure that records vital to child abuse are not accidentally destroyed. All of these questions could be based on an accurate representation of the clear instructions from the WTS without spinning them to infer some top down systematic cover up and destruction of records related to child abuse.
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  35

  Evolution is a Fact #11 - Tiktaalik

  by cofty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  one of the biggest gulfs that life has had to cross was the transition from sea to dry land.. fish have conical shaped heads, reptiles have flat heads.

  fish have no necks; their heads are attached to their shoulders by a series of bony plates.

  land-dwelling animals all have necks; their heads can move independently of their shoulders.

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  konceptual99

  Plus, in essence everything is a transitional species.
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  22

  Daily Mirror article about JWs destroying evidence

  by Tornintwo in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i can't see another thread but maybe i missed it:.

  http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/jehovahs-witnesses-paedophile-sex-abuse-7278824#comments-section.

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  konceptual99

  My understanding (as according to Louise Goods you tube video) was that elders were told not to destroy notes that were specifically related to child abuse. But it makes me wonder if this would also be the case for other JC that dealt with border line criminal activity.
  Although not a lawyer. I really don't think Wt were helping themselves in light of public opinion.

  Exactly the point. I think there are plenty of troubling questions to be found simply by dissecting the facts rather than spinning things to build up sensationalist nonsense.
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  7

  Ashia King, the little boy taken by his JW parents from a UK hospital to Spain

  by nonjwspouse in

  1. social
  2. current

  the first thought b many was that this jw family was taking their son out of the uk hospital in order to avoid the almost guaranteed need for a blood transfusion.. it was later recognized it was about the refusal of the uk health system to allow them any questions or choices in the care of their son.

  they wanted proton beam therapy for the brain tumor which is much less devastating on his little body, and much more accurate.

  a later interview the father admitted he was a father first, and if his son needed a blood transfusion he would get one.

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  konceptual99

  I think it unlikely that the parents will be naive about the prospects of long term prognosis, given the father's capacity for research on the condition.

  The statements from the Kings are that there is no cancer showing on scans any more and the lad is cured. If you read up on the type of cancer he had there is no possible way of knowing that is really the case for several years yet. The type of radio therapy does not affect this.

  In fact, the orginal hospital offered his son no treatment, so convinced were the specialists at that hosptial there was nothing that could be done.

  Not true at all. The hospital followed their standard protocol of surgery (which he had in Southampton) to be followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The surgery saved his life - left untreated it would have killed him. In simple terms the other treatments are designed to remove any other cancerous cells left and help prevent the cancer returning. What Mr. King was concerned about was the effect of the conventional radio therapy. The specialists did not think that using proton beam would make a difference to the likely outcomes.

  I have seen what radio and chemo does to people so I do not question the Kings' desire to find a viable alternative but to suggest the hospital were a bunch of heartless bastards is a gross misrepresentation.

  I see the so-called "controversial" treatment (Proton) the specialists had questioned will be more widely available in the UK this year.

  Proton beam is safer way of delivering radio therapy and has been used in the UK for some time. The NHS does refer patients it feels the treatment can work for. There are new centres opening up. There was also some research published in the past couple of days that provide more empirical data supporting it's use in a wider range of cases. Oncologists do not question proton beam in the same way they question things like special diets for the treatment of cancer. It's not "controversial" in the sense they think it's some kind of quackery. It is a relatively new technology that they have only had limited data with which to form clinical decisions. Basically, it is not suitable for all patients but perhaps it is more suitable for more people than they previously had evidence for.

  The more it is used and the more results they have then I am sure that it will be more useful for more and more people. If it has worked for Aysha King then no doubt it has minimised the potential damage to healthy cells that conventional RT risks. That's a great result however it is no more likely to cure (by which we mean long term remission of over 5 years) than anything else.