We have written here at the cancer blog about Courtney Nicole a few times. You can find posts here and here. Courtney passed way about eight months ago. Her mom still keeps a journal of what is going on in her life and how she is coping with the loss of her nineteen year old daughter.

I find myself going to her site often to see how she is doing. It is heartbreaking to read her words at times and encouraging at other times. She is trying to go on -- but how, without her daughter?

Recently, Court's mom posted Its Like a Scab! on her website. Here's what she said:

North Carolina State women's basketball coach Kay Yow is still in the game, despite her difficult match-up with a fierce opponent -- breast cancer.

Yow is fighting for the third time a disease that has been spreading throughout her body since last fall. She has sores in her mouth, hasn't been able to eat, and receives regular doses of pain medication, antibiotics, and nutrients to combat the effects of three chemotherapy drugs that are cycling through her tired body.

Still, Yow is never far from the sidelines.

She was right there in the mix the day NC State named its women's basketball court in her honor. Shortly after, she was wheeled off the court on a stretcher, headed for the hospital so she could be pumped full of drugs. She was at work the next day. And at the unveiling of the Kay Yow Court. And at her game that same night. And at the end of the night, with an oncologist and nurse, she was accompanied to her office where she was once again hooked up to an IV so drugs could once again drip into Yow's exhausted body.

Yow, 65, is tough and determined.

"I know people are saying I'm doing too much," Yow says. "I know I have to take care of myself. But it's not like I have a cold or pneumonia and if I rest it will get better. Rest is not going to cure cancer. If rest were just the answer, that's what I would do."

"But if someone can be involved with something that is a passion for them, then I don't think there's anything wrong in trying to do that. Coaching lifts me up. Once the ball is tossed up, I forget pretty much about everything and just focus on the game. If I just do nothing, I feel like I'm giving in to the disease."

For anyone keeping score on the battle between Yow and cancer, it's clear Yow is a winner.

Previous posts about Kay Yow are as follows:
NC State coach takes leave to fight breast cancer
NC State basketball coach Kay Yow back in the game

Teenager Abraham Cherrix made national headlines recently with a legal battle that earned him the right to fight cancer on his own terms. Cherrix, 16, who chose to treat his disease with alternative treatments after traditional therapy failed to cure him of Hodgkin's disease, was told by the courts that his choice was not acceptable -- that he must undergo higher doses of chemotherapy in combination with radiation and followed by stem cell transplant. Cherrix ended up a winner in court and is currently receiving the therapy of his choice. But despite the legal win, Cherrix and his family are losing financially.

The Cherrix family owns a kayak company in Virginia, and spring and summer are peak seasons. Since the family had to close shop on many occasions due to court appearances, profits suffered. So on Sunday afternoon, local musicians headlined a fundraising concert -- billed as Voices for Choices -- to help with medical and court costs. Cherrix could not attend -- he's in the midst of treatment in Mississippi -- but the show went on. And while the money raised is not enough to cover all outstanding bills, it is enough to remind the family of all the caring people in the world.

Reports from family indicate Cherrix is doing well with treatment and that his tumor is shrinking. If he continues to make progress, he may be able to return home soon -- so he can thank those whose support is so much more than money can buy.

At the end of May, we told you about Abraham Starchild Cherrix, a teenager diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, who went through three months of chemotherapy only to have the cancer return months later. When his doctors recommended more chemotherapy and radiation, Cherrix, with the support of his parents, refused. Cherrix was concerned about the toxic effects of chemotherapy and radiation. He had chosen alternative therapies involving a bible-based diet and Hoxsey formula involving herbs and nutrition.

When Cherrix, who is now 16, said thanks but no thanks to the team of doctors recommending chemotherapy and radiation, a state social worker stepped in, filed with the court to gain joint custody of Cherrix and asked the court to require the teen to undergo standard cancer treatments of chemotherapy and radiation. Last Friday, the judge ruled in favor of the state and against the wishes of Cherrix. The court ordered Cherrix to report to the hospital for treatment.

To this Cherrix said he would defy the court order. He was not going to the hospital and he was not going to submit himself to conventional cancer treatments. Today, a second judge set aside the court order and returned legal custody of Cherrix to his parents. Cherrix is not, at this time, required to report the hospital. A trial date has been set for August 16 that seeks to require Cherrix to undergo chemotherapy and radiation.

Do you think the state has gone to far into the private life of a family, or do you think the parents are being negligent? Does a teenage boy of 16 have a right to decide his medical care?

Abraham Starchild Cherrix was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma last summer and went through three months of chemotherapy. Early this year, tests showed the chemotherapy had not achieved the goal of cancer remission and his doctors recommended more chemotherapy and radiation. Since being diagnosed with cancer, Cherrix has done his research, and when the doctors told him they would like him to undergo additional chemotherapy and radiation, he said thanks but no thanks. He has lost faith in conventional medicine to help him, and he is concerned about the poisonous damage chemotherapy and radiation will do to his body. He is not alone.

Cherrix wants to try alternative therapies now to combat a cancer that chemotherapy has failed to defeat. He is interested in a bible-based diet, and the Hoxsey formula involving herbs and nutrition. He has contacted the Association for Research and Enlightenment, a center founded by Christian psychic Edgar Cayce and a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico. Like I said, he is not alone. The interest and use of alternative therapies is a choice some cancer patients make to treat their cancer. Ultimately it is up to the cancer patient how the cancer is treated. So what is the big deal that Cherrix has chosen this route? He is 15 years-old. So when he made his intentions clear, with the support of his parents, child services and the court stepped in and legally ordered him to begin chemotherapy and radiation. His parents have been threatened with losing custody of their son.

It's a tough call. There is a cancer patient who does not believe in a treatment he is being forced to undergo -- and having faith in your doctors and treatment can affect how well a treatment works -- and life and death decisions and courses of action that often do not come with a second chance. If Cherrix were an adult, none of this would be a legal issue. Do you think the courts have a right to intervene?