May 19, 2009 - A mother has gone on the run with her cancer-suffering son after a US court tried to force the boy to have chemotherapy.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Colleen Hauser, who has been using herbal supplements to treat her 13-year-old son Daniel, who has Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The cancer is considered to be highly curable with conventional treatment but the youngster has had just one chemotherapy session.

Daniel and his parents said he would be having "alternative medicines", citing religious beliefs.

A judge ruled Daniel was being medically neglected by his parents, and Minnesota state authorities began to seek custody of the teenager.

When Mrs Hauser and her son failed to attend a court hearing on his welfare, the arrest warrant was issued.

The family's doctor, James Joyce, said Daniel's tumour had grown and that he needed immediate assessment by a pediatric cancer doctor.

Colleen Hauser told an earlier hearing her son was "not in any medical danger".

She said she had been treating his cancer with herbal supplements, vitamins, ionised water and other natural alternatives.

But the judge ruled that state laws required parents to provide necessary medical care for a child - and that complementary health care methods were not enough.

He also said Daniel, who cannot read, did not understand the risks and benefits of chemotherapy and did not believe he was ill.

The Hausers, who have eight children, believe in the "do no harm" philosophy of the Nemenhah Band, a Missouri-based religious group that believes in natural healing methods advocated by some American Indians.