Minnesota man whose son fled to avoid court-ordered chemo has cancer

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A Minnesota man whose son fled the state because his parents wanted to avoid court-ordered chemotherapy said Wednesday that he had cancer but wasn’t ruling out chemotherapy.

Anthony Hauser, 55, of Sleepy Eye, told reporters at his farm that he was diagnosed last month with a rare and aggressive form of leukemia. For now, he is treating the disease with blood transfusions and dietary therapies, similar to what he and his wife first wanted for their 14-year-old son, Daniel.

But Hauser said he wasn’t ruling out chemotherapy or radiation later.

‘It’s up to God, I guess, what happens, but I’m just going to take it one day at a time, one step at a time,’ he said.

His wife fled to California with Daniel early last year after a judge ordered the boy to undergo chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which his doctors said was highly curable but would likely be fatal without treatment. His parents wanted to use alternative therapies. The case made national headlines and triggered a debate over the rights of parents to make medical decisions for their children.

Daniel and his mother, Colleen Hauser, returned home after a week on the run, and he underwent conventional treatment. He remains in remission and is doing well with no signs of cancer, his parents said.

-- Associated Press