Cassandra C. in Remission After Forced Chemotherapy

A teenage girl taken into Connecticut state custody and forced by the state to get chemotherapy treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma is now in remission.

"It's true, I am in remission; and it would mean the world to me, (sic) to be able to come home to get the remainder of this nightmare over with," Cassandra C., 17, posted on her Facebook page.

Cassandra C., who remains away from home under the care of the state, didn't want chemotherapy and was previously fighting the state so she wouldn't have to get the treatment, but she lost in court so she was forced to undergo chemo.

In a statement to NBC Connecticut in January, DCF officials said they were exploring options for Cassandra C. to live in a specialized group home when she was released from the hospital.

Court documents show DCF took custody of her when she ran away from home after two days of chemotherapy and missed medical appointments. Her mother, Jackie Fortin, plans to fight those claims.

“We never blew off appointments,” Fortin said previously. “Did we have to reschedule some because of our work schedule? Absolutely.”

The state's highest court reviewed the case under an emergency appeal filed by attorneys representing Cassandra and her mother, taking up an issue previously decided by several other states – whether some minors are mature enough to make decisions about their own bodies.

The judges ultimately decided that Cassandra is not mature and will continue to receive chemotherapy. She turns 18 in September, a year after her cancer diagnosis.

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