{"id":1981966,"date":"2023-07-25T08:12:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-25T12:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/i-was-prescribed-a-puberty-blocker-for-cancer-treatment-i-cant-fathom-giving-it-to-healthy-kids\/"},"modified":"2023-07-25T08:18:05","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T12:18:05","slug":"i-was-prescribed-a-puberty-blocker-for-cancer-treatment-i-cant-fathom-giving-it-to-healthy-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/i-was-prescribed-a-puberty-blocker-for-cancer-treatment-i-cant-fathom-giving-it-to-healthy-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Prescribed puberty blocker for cancer, can&#8217;t imagine giving it to healthy kids."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fi-was-prescribed-a-puberty-blocker-for-cancer-treatment-i-cant-fathom-giving-it-to-healthy-kids%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1981966&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>This July will mark my being in remission from leukemia\u2064 for five years, and thus no longer being a\u2062 cancer patient, and yet my journey as a perma-patient has only just \u200cbegun.\u200b As a permanent \u2062patient, I\u2064 now\u200d need several \u200btypes\u2064 of continued\u200d care for the rest of my life because of the treatments I\u200d received. It was an expected\u2064 tradeoff that comes with surviving an aggressive form of leukemia called acute promyelocytic\u2064 leukemia, a subtype\u200b of AML.<\/p>\n<p>The \u2064evening I was diagnosed, not\u2062 only was I told that without treatment I might not survive the night, but \u200bI\u200d had to decide on the course \u2064of treatment\u200c at once. In addition to\u200c taking arsenic and all-trans-retinoic\u00a0acid (ATRA), I had two options for a primary chemotherapy agent, \u2063Idarubicin or Mylotarg, and less than 24 \u200dhours to decide. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-162904563\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-59e5397d19bad8397c774a1585aa26fb fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-59e5397d19bad8397c774a1585aa26fb\"><\/div>\n<p>I poured over the research and statistical studies, knowing the downsides \u2064after reading the package \u200binserts and understanding that\u2062 both\u200c could hinder my fertility, albeit\u2064 in different ways.\u2062 I chose\u200d Mylotarg (a new drug on \u200dthe market) instead of \u200cIdarubicin as my principal chemotherapy\u2062 agent for induction since\u2062 I\u2019d \u2064have less risk of hemorrhaging \u2064and could \u2062<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/i-was-prescribed-a-puberty-blocker-for-cancer-treatment-i-cant-fathom-giving-it-to-healthy-kids\/\" title=\"Prescribed puberty blocker for cancer, can't imagine giving it to healthy kids.\">expect fewer long-term \u200dside effects<\/a>. I am lucky\u200c to have \u2064made it out alive.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, I now suffer from osteoarthritis \u2064and chronic bone pain, most likely caused \u2062by a drug called Lupron, the very \u2062same drug used to stop puberty in children claiming to be transgender. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Painful and Long-Term Side Effects <\/h2>\n<p>I received a Lupron injection\u2064 on my first day in the hospital as\u2063 part \u200dof\u200b the other supportive care I received. The drug was prescribed for two reasons; \u2062the first\u200d was because I had\u2063 a hemorrhagic type of leukemia, and\u200c Lupron\u2063 was used to stop the risk of my period transforming into hemorrhaging. The second reason \u200bwas to protect\u2062 fertility, operating\u2062 under the theory that \u200dby\u2062 temporarily shutting down fertility by inducing temporary menopause, the inactive system wouldn\u2019t be exposed to the chemotherapy agents.<\/p>\n<p>Although the use of Lupron to\u2062 protect fertility is newer\u200d and not\u200d one that the \u200dFDA has approved, it was prescribed matter-of-factly compared\u2064 to chemotherapy agents. \u2064Ironically, none of my\u200d chemotherapy agents caused hair loss, but \u2062I lost\u200b over half\u200b of my hair \u200bduring treatment from the\u2063 Lupron and wore a wig for over six months after my treatment ended.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-6d0ff7fcc511a868b7c1d3a6b35881cd fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-6d0ff7fcc511a868b7c1d3a6b35881cd\"><\/div>\n<p>Lupron\u2062 caused both general and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/holistic-ways-of-treating-menopause\/\" title=\"Holistic Ways of Treating Menopause\">abdominal weight gain<\/a>, but\u2064 because it also caused decreased bone density, I also have chronic pain in my pelvis and arthritis\u2062 in my knees from osteoarthritis\u200d that \u200dI \u2064didn\u2019t have before treatment. I now get injections in my knees to walk comfortably;\u200d I\u2019ve given up \u2062my passion for trail\u2063 running and generally cannot use cardio exercise to control my weight. I have to sit on a cushion at work\u2063 and \u200bwhen I drive.<\/p>\n<p>When I accepted Lupron as part of my cancer treatment, I\u200c did so with a life-or-death diagnosis and the imminent threat of hemorrhaging.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, \u200bmany\u2062 women might \u2064not have the side effects\u2063 I \u200cdid. The drug is also \u200bcommonly used \u2062by women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) to\u200c either stimulate\u200b follicles or prevent ovulation before starting certain \u2063IVF protocols \u2014 all depending on the\u200b dosage and duration of\u200c the prescription.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Giving Drugs to\u200c Healthy Children<\/h2>\n<p>Today, Lupron is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cedars-sinai.org\/blog\/puberty-blockers-for-precocious-puberty.html#:~:text=Endocrinologists%20mainly%20treat%20precocious%20puberty,every%2Dthree%2Dmonths%20intramuscular%20injection\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">prescribed<\/a> \u200das a \u201cpuberty blocker\u201d \u200bfor children with \u201cgender dysphoria.\u201d As someone who has taken it, I \u200cam appalled. I cannot fathom how using Lupron on otherwise\u200c healthy\u200c bodies,\u2064 knowing\u200c its \u2062<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chelsea-clinton-appears-to-call-on-facebook-to-ban-tucker-carlson-post\/\" title=\"Chelsea Clinton Appears To Call On Facebook To Ban Tucker Carlson Post\">long-term side effects<\/a>, isn\u2019t\u200d criminal. More appalling is\u2062 that this strong pharmaceutical is used in children with a psychiatric condition\u2064 that will resolve \u200bin up to 90 percent of children if\u200b left unmedicalized.\u2063 This is akin\u2064 to\u200b prescribing hysterectomies for \u201chysteria\u201d in the 20th century.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4189941055c6574f32a2d53bd8e2bf75 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4189941055c6574f32a2d53bd8e2bf75\"><\/div>\n<p>Lupron is used \u2063differently\u200b at different\u2064 doses in cancer\u2064 patients. For \u2063me, Lupron was prescribed for fertility preservation at \u20633.75 \u200dmg monthly. Prostate and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/socialised-medicine-life-prolonging-drug-deemed-too-expensive-for-nhs-breast-cancer-patients\/\" title=\"Socialised Medicine: Life-Prolonging Drug Deemed 'Too Expensive' for NHS Breast Cancer Patients\">breast cancer patients<\/a>\u200d sometimes receive twice the amount I did. <\/p>\n<p>Boston \u200bChildren\u2019s Hospital has a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bcchildrens.ca\/endocrinology-diabetes-site\/documents\/bcchluprongd.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">document<\/a> on using Lupron \u2063as a puberty blocker in their gender facility. The dosage\u2063 they prescribe is a 7.5 mg injection\u00a0monthly,\u2064 twice\u2063 the amount I received. That \u200cis twice the amount used to create temporary menopause and functionally the same amount used to create permanent menopause in women \u200bwith\u200b estrogen-positive\u2063 breast cancer. <\/p>\n<p>As \u200ca then-33-year-old, I\u200d knew the trade-offs\u2063 that come \u2063with surviving cancer. Children, especially those actively experiencing \u2064mental illness, cannot possibly fathom permanence or provide informed consent as I did. As \u2063someone who may have permanently \u200dsacrificed motherhood \u200bfor literal survival, I \u2063cannot\u2064 fathom how the medical community could ask children or parents to make that decision for anything less.<\/p>\n<p>This \u200bis\u200b especially true given\u200d the increasing \u2064reports that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsbtv.com\/news\/local\/georgia-woman-says-drug-used-to-treat-endometriosis-led-to-series-of-health-problems\/859263892\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">women<\/a> who have taken \u2062extended \u2062courses of Lupron and former \u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/2017\/02\/02\/lupron-puberty-children-health-problems\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pediatric patients<\/a> treated for precocious puberty report devastating side effects, \u200cnot to mention the sterilization that can \u2062occur in\u2062 children when the drug is used to block otherwise healthy puberty.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A \u2018Life-Saving\u2019 Drug?<\/h2>\n<p>In the case\u2063 of childhood cancers, consent for treatment often includes understanding the horrendous tradeoff of life\u2064 for fertility, \u2064and parents are burdened with the final \u2064decision. However, in the case\u200b of \u201cgender dysphoria,\u201d \u200bthere\u2063 is a conflation \u200cbetween suicidal ideation\u2062 by a minor\u2064 and a \u200bdeadly acute illness such \u2062as cancer to label pubertal suppression and \u201cgender-affirming care\u201d as \u201clife-saving\u2063 care,\u201d\u200c that \u2062has \u2062become evident in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/trans-gender-affirming-care-transition-hormone-surgery-evidence-c1961e27?page=1\">European experience.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>It is\u200c also becoming apparent from the numerous \u2062adolescent detransitioners coming forward via lawsuits and social media that parents can\u2019t make\u200c informed\u2063 decisions when these changes are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/children-gender-dysphoria-trans-doctors-8417ac9e?mod=WTRN_pos2&#038;cx_testId=3&#038;cx_testVariant=cx_168&#038;cx_artPos=1#cxrecs_s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">inaccurately<\/a> described as \u200c\u201clife-saving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thus, \u2062we \u200cmust ask ourselves, as\u2063 a society, whether children or even their parents can consent\u200b to drugs\u2062 and procedures that create a permanent dependence on medical care \u200cabsent life-threatening illnesses, such as cancer or diabetes. Moreover, can they \u200cconsent \u2064during periods of intense\u200d emotional\u200b distress? The side effects I continue to experience from only nine\u200c months of Lupron, first administered in an authentic life-and-death situation, are far less severe than those on \u2063children, but they\u200d are permanent.<\/p>\n<p>I have a high degree of \u2062faith in science and medicine. Still, it\u2019s becoming \u200bevident \u200bthat we must\u2063 prevent the medical exploitation of children and work to keep the temporary distresses \u2062of adolescence from being permanently \u200bmedicalized\u200c and pathologized.\u00a0The time for live and let live\u2064 is over, and states must continue intervening. We\u2064 must stop the needless sterilization of children.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d98ee19a2ec07b6c541455190d4c45bc fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d98ee19a2ec07b6c541455190d4c45bc\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>received for leukemia. Despite being in remission for five years, my journey as a perma-patient has just started. I require ongoing care due to the treatments I underwent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2226,"featured_media":1981967,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1981966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1981966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2226"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1981966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1981966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1981967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1981966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1981966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1981966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}