The following article appeared in the Contra Costa Times on 9/8/95.
--Contra Costa County, California
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              SURGEONS BEGIN CHEMOTHERAPY ON BYRON BOY
                   MOM STILL SEEKS '2ND OPINION'
                         By Robert Burnson
   Oakland--Armed with a court order, physicians started chemotherapy 
Thursday for a 6-year-old Byron boy whose mother had refused the 
treatment in favor of herbal therapy.
   Surgeons inserted a tube into Adrian Chavez's heart in the afternoon
and started pumping cancer-fighting drugs into his body, said hospital
spokesman Stephen Texeira.
   A juvenile court referee ruled Wednesday that physicians could take
whatever steps they thought necessary to save the boy's life over the
objections of the mother.
   "With the treatment, he has a 50 to 60 percent chance of survival,"
Texeira said.  "Without it, he will die."
   His mother, Elena Duarte, a 27-year-old single mother, continued to
assert Thursday that the treatment is unnecessary.
   "I want my right to a second opinion," she said.  "That's all I'm
asking."
   Tests six weeks ago revealed that Adrian's leukemia, which had been
in remission, had returned.  He has battled the disease for most of the
last four years.
   After tests confirmed the disease had returned, staff at Children's
Hospital Oakland tried to persuade his mother to take in for a new 
round of chemotherapy.
   But Duarte kept putting them off, Texeira said, and instead chose to 
take Adrian to a Modesto-area herbalist.
   A hospital social worker called Duarte again Aug. 31 and demanded she
bring Adrian in.  Duarte responded by threatening to run away with the 
boy.
   With that, the hospital reported Duarte to Child Protective Services.
The agency took the boy from his home that evening.
   He spent one night with a foster parent and the last seven at 
Children's Hospital, where he is listed in fair condition.
   Physicians wanted to start chemotherapy immediately, Texeira said,
but could not do so without Duarte's permission or a court order.
   Juvenile Referee Bruce Stirling held a brief court hearing Thursday
morning in Martinez to schedule a formal hearing on the county's 
petition to take the boy from his home.  The hearing was scheduled for 
Sept. 18, Duarte said.
   The public and news media were excluded from the courtroom.
   Juvenile court cases are normally closed to the public to maintain
the anonymity of minors.
   At the Sept. 18 hearing, lawyers for Child Protective Services are
expected to recommend what the agency believes is necessary to protect
Adrian.
   Juvenile Referee Stephen Easton gave the agency temporary custody of
Adrian on Wednesday.
   One question that remains is what will happen to Adrian after he 
finishes the week of treatments.
   The child welfare agency could place him in a foster home or return 
him to his mother, said Elizabeth Harrigan, a court-appointed lawyer
representing the child.
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--- Mankind = One Family
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