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Jensens Have Been Studious in Researching Their Son's Diagnosis
Preface
Editorial
Op-Ed Piece re: Holly Mullen’s editorial on Parker Jensen
(Jensens'
self-righteousness is no cure for son's cancer)
To: The Salt Lake Tribune
Thursday’s editorial diatribe on the Jensens by Holly Mullen is stylistically sophomoric; worse, it is lazy in its assumptions and dishonest in its accusations.
Mullen "ventures a guess" that the Jensens are doing nothing for their son. Are facts still important in journalism? Having zero evidence for her "guess," the editorial basis is worthless.
I have challenged Mullen via email three times to defend this egregious lie that she repeats three times in her inflammatory, manipulative “journalism:”
“Meanwhile, the cancer is still there."
The results were in a week ago from a Boise oncologist, who did not find a single cell of cancer in Parker Jensen last week.
Six months ago, the original doctor at Primary’s predicted metastasis in two weeks. Now, an independent doctor can find no cancer. So what if every pediatric oncologist in America recommends chemotherapy? That's all pediatric oncology sells! (That, and surgery--and the Jensens already bought one of those for Parker.)
Doctors purport that they have a corner on the research market. Actually, they are puppets of the studies conducted by $100 billion cancer drug giants. They want to force a long-term treatment of poisoning Parker within an inch of life, all for a “remission” rate of 60%--with 50% recurrence? Mullen vilifies the father who went to jail for passing up that promising “opportunity.”
These are not homeless, mentally ill, drug-addicted parents; these are
typical parents educated in health care options. The Jensens have a cancer battle plan that comprises two thick notebooks. Months ago, they committed $6,500/mo. to treatment at Houston’s internationally-renowned Burzynski clinic. Utah intervened and barred them from testing and treatment there. Parker has been treated by an internationally famous childhood tumor specialist in Austria (whom Utah won’t recognize, only accepting the American allopathic specialty of pediatric oncologist). Parker is also being treated by eminent cancer author Ralph Moss, M.D., and by a local clinic headed by an M.D. who wishes not to be named, since Primary Children’s has threatened the clinic.
The Jensens are preparing a brief that outlines their plan and why they take issue with the chemotherapy modality. They have been overwhelmed with fighting "Big Brother" (Mullen’s words, attempting to portray this family she’s never met as crazy). The rest of the Jensens’ time has gone to treating their son with the best that worldwide medicine has to offer and raising four other children. They don’t have a PR machine and unlimited tax-base resources. Daren Jensen has had to step down from his CEO job and lose his home because he was attacked by the entire resource set of the State of Utah.
Mullen quotes Mollie McDonald of the A.G.’s office, who cried during the telephone interview. Mullen manipulates that to serve her purposes, but never states why McDonald is so emotional.
Mullen quotes McDonald saying she’s just doing her job (which is to legally “represent” Parker against his parents!). Without spending any time with Parker OR his family, McDonald did her “job” by pursuing legal action on nothing more than the word of the Primary doctors and the AG’s office, who co-wrote the 11-count charge against the Jensens.
As Parker’s attorney, did McDonald ever file an affidavit with the court that Parker repeatedly states, "I do not want chemo"? Did she ask Parker if she could release his medical records to the press? Did she ever try to contact Parker and develop a relationship with him to know what is best for him? Has she spent countless hours in cancer institute databases verifying the information she was hearing from doctors, as the Jensens did? How can she be the spokesman for PCMC and Dr. Johnston against her own client? Has being single and without children hindered McDonald in looking out for Parker’s "best interests?"
After the pre-trial hearing, where Utah was set on its collision course with international infamy, McDonald met with the Jensens and learned of their extensive research and treatments for their son. Then, too, McDonald broke into tears, saying, "I just didn't know!" In turn, Mullen’s editorial doesn’t know or care why McDonald is emotional.
The State backed out of Parker’s health care because the State realized that was the right thing to do. Parker has parents who love him and who have "mortgaged the farm" to search the world over to help him. The A.G.’s pathetic face-saving statement that “we can’t force it when Parker doesn’t want it” avoids the real issue: the State learned the hard way that it has no business in this family’s difficult, ambiguous decision-making process among many options.
Ironically, Mullen accused the Jensens of neglect on the very day that her own newspaper reported their court exoneration on neglect and kidnapping charges.
Mullen’s allegation that this family would sacrifice their son’s health to pick a fight with the state is shocking and false. She writes me that public opinion is turning against the Jensens. Again she declines to offer evidence. At www.mychildmychoice.org, 350 people have signed an unpublicized online petition for the Jensens, and I have 200 other signatures on a separate list.
Utah families want autonomy because their decisions are informed by love for their children; because they are willing to give anything for their children’s health and safety; and because they have ultimate responsibility. Doctors and bureaucrats will never have those motivations.
Robyn Openshaw-Pay
801-785-2113, 318-3662
Lindon, Utah
Page posted by SDA, Oct. 6, 2003
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