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Teen forced to undergo chemo testifies at custody hearing

FILE - This January 2015 file photo provided by Cassandra C., shows Cassandra, a teen who does not want to give her last name, confined in a room at Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford, Conn., where she is being forced to undergo chemotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma. The 17-year-old, who is no longer fighting the treatment and learned recently that the disease is in remission, is asking the Department of Children and Families to allow her to go home now instead of waiting until the treatment is complete next month. (AP Photo/Cassandra C., File) FILE - This January 2015 file photo provided by Cassandra C., shows Cassandra, a teen who does not want to give her last name, confined in a room at Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford, Conn., where she is being forced to undergo chemotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma. The 17-year-old, who is no longer fighting the treatment and learned recently that the disease is in remission, is asking the Department of Children and Families to allow her to go home now instead of waiting until the treatment is complete next month. (AP Photo/Cassandra C., File)

By Associated Press March 16, 2015 1 min read

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – A 17-year-old Connecticut girl who was forced to undergo chemotherapy by the state has testified at a closed door hearing where she and her mother are seeking her release from state custody.

Lawyers say the teen identified only as Cassandra C. testified by teleconference Monday in Juvenile Court.

The teen learned recently that her Hodgkin lymphoma is in remission and she is no longer fighting the treatment. But she and her mother are asking to end her custody by the Department of Children and Families so she can go home now instead of waiting until the chemotherapy is complete next month.

Cassandra remains confined at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford. She will be free to make her own medical decisions when she turns 18 in September.