Oregon court orders 13-year-old girl to undergo cancer surgery - after her mother tried to run away with her and treat her with only CBD oil

  • Kylee Dixon, 13, of Wilsonville, Oregon was diagnosed with undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma, a rare liver cancer, in March 2018
  • She underwent chemotherapy for six months before her mother, Christina, brought her home and treated her with herbs, vitamins and CBD oil 
  • Dixon claimed the tumor was reduced by 90% despite no scientific evidence that shows these alternative methods are effective  
  • After failing to bring Kylee in for a scheduled surgery in June 2019, a court order was issued demanding Kylee be turned over to the state's custody
  • Dixon went on the run with her daughter before they were tracked down in Nevada and Kylee was placed with a foster family
  • She turned herself in to police last week and was charged with custodial interference and criminal mistreatment
  • A court has ordered that Kylee go in for a doctor's appointment next week so that surgery can be planned

An Oregon court has ordered a 13-year-old girl with a rare liver cancer to undergo surgery after her mother ran away with her and tried to treat her with unproven CBD oil 'therapy'.

Kylee Dixon, of Wilsonville, was diagnosed with undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma  in March 2018 and doctors recommended she be treated with chemotherapy and surgery.

Without these treatments, they said she would die. 

Her mother, Christina, 35, claimed the traditional treatments weren't working, but that a mix of herbs, vitamins and CBD oil shrunk the tumor by 90 percent - despite no evidence suggesting that any of these methods are effective.

She went on the run with Kylee for seven days in June before they were found in Nevada and the teenager was turned over to the custody of the state.

Dixon turned herself into police after a warrant was issued for her arrest and she was charged with custodial interference and criminal mistreatment last week.

On Monday, an attorney from the Oregon Department of Justice said Kylee is ordered to attend a doctor's appointment this week to plan her upcoming surgery, reported KGW 8.

The Clackamas County Circuit Court ordered that plans move forward for Kylee Dixon, 13, of Wilsonville, Oregon to undergo 'life-saving' surgery to treat her rare liver cancer. Pictured: Kylee, left, with her mother

The Clackamas County Circuit Court ordered that plans move forward for Kylee Dixon, 13, of Wilsonville, Oregon to undergo 'life-saving' surgery to treat her rare liver cancer. Pictured: Kylee, left, with her mother

Last week, her mother, Christina Dixon, 35, turned herself in to police after losing a bid to treat her daughter's cancer with alternative methods. Pictured: Dixon n, left, with Kylee
She was charged with custodial interference and criminal mistreatment. Pictured: Dixon in her booking photo

Last week, her mother, Christina Dixon, 35, turned herself in to police after losing a bid to treat her daughter's cancer with alternative methods. She was charged with custodial interference and criminal mistreatment. Pictured: Dixon with Kylee, left, and in her booking photo, right

Kylee was diagnosed with undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma in March 2018. Pictured: Kylee, in bed, with her mother

Kylee was diagnosed with undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma in March 2018. Pictured: Kylee, in bed, with her mother 

Kylee was rushed to Providence Portland Medical Center in February 2018 after she complained that she was in extreme pain, according to KGW 8.

Doctors discovered she had a mass on her liver that had ruptured, causing Kylee to internally bleed.

She was diagnosed in March with undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma, a rare liver cancer that mostly occurs in children.

Scientists are unsure of what causes the cancer, but know that the cancerous cells grow early in a fetus's development.

Symptoms often include a swollen stomach, belly pain, nausea and vomiting, fever, diarrhea or a loss of appetite.  

The cancer accounts for between two percent and 15 percent of all liver cancers, according to the National Cancer Institute.

The five-year-survival rate is 92 percent for those who are treated with a combination of surgery and chemotherapy. 

Kylee began undergoing grueling chemotherapy at Oregon Health and Science University - which Dixon said was hard to watch. 

'The best way I can describe it is like my kid was on death row,' she told KGW 8. 'Every single time - you literally feel your kid's life getting taken away.'

After six months, Dixon convinced doctors to discharge Kylee so she could take her home, which is when she began turning to alternative medicine.

Dixon treated Kylee with a mix of vitamin herbs and pure CBD oil, which she claims reduced her daughter's tumor by 90 percent. 

A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in 2017 found that cancer patients who were treated only with alternative medicine had a 250 percent higher risk of death than patients who chose standard care. 

On June 6, Kylee and her mother did not show up for a scheduled surgery, 

The next day, the state intervened and the Clackamas County Circuit Court issued a pickup order for Kylee and demanded she placed in the custody of the Oregon Department of Human Services.

Kylee (pictured) underwent chemotherapy for six months at Oregon Health and Science University before Dixon brought her home

Kylee (pictured) underwent chemotherapy for six months at Oregon Health and Science University before Dixon brought her home

Dixon treated her daughter's cancer with herbs, vitamins and CBD oil and claimed the tumor was reduced by 90 percent. Pictured: Kylee in the hospital
After failing to bring Kylee in for a scheduled surgery in June, a court order was issued demanding Kylee be turned over to the state's custody. Pictured: Kylee in the hospital

Dixon treated her daughter's cancer with herbs, vitamins and CBD oil and claimed the tumor was reduced by 90 percent. After failing to bring Kylee in for a scheduled surgery in June, a court order was issued demanding Kylee be turned over to the state's custody. Pictured, left and right: Kylee in the hospital 

'The mother has elected to treat child's cancer exclusively with CBD oil, which is not a medically recognized treatment for the disease with which child has been diagnosed,' Clackamas County senior deputy district attorney Christine Landers wrote in court documents viewed by KGW 8.

'[It] will have no efficacy in treating child's cancer, and child's medical team and specialists in pediatric oncology have stated that without further treatment child will die of the disease, which creates a risk of harm to the child.'  

Dixon fled with her daughter and the Wilsonville Police Department sent out an advisory asking for help in finding Kylee.

Three days later, the mother-and-daughter pair were found at the Longhorn Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Kylee was taken into protective custody, but her mother was not arrested at the time because there were 'no probable cause charges'. 

Dixon and her supporters called the state's decision 'medical kidnapping'.

Dixon went on the run with her daughter before they were tracked down in Nevada and Kylee was placed with a foster family. Pictured: Kylee, left, with her mother

Dixon went on the run with her daughter before they were tracked down in Nevada and Kylee was placed with a foster family. Pictured: Kylee, left, with her mother 

Last month, a judge ruled that state child welfare workers can make medical decisions for Kylee rather than Dixon. Pictured: Kylee, left, with her mother

Last month, a judge ruled that state child welfare workers can make medical decisions for Kylee rather than Dixon. Pictured: Kylee, left, with her mother

Nearly four in 10 Americans believe alternative therapies on its own can cure cancer, despite a lack of scientific evidence, according to a 2018 survey from the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

And the American Cancer Society recommends using alternative treatments only as a complement to traditional methods. 

Kylee has reportedly said that she does not want to undergo surgery and wants to resume using CBD oil - which she had been taken off of.  

Last month, a judge ruled that state child welfare workers can make medical decisions for Kylee rather than Dixon.

'I'm not a doctor,' said Judge Heather Karabeika, according to Oregon Live. 'I let medical professionals handle what they think is most appropriate given their experience and knowledge.'

On Monday, the state ordered that Kylee must attend a doctor's appointment and that she will receive the surgery doctors say she needs.

The Clackamas County Circuit Court also requested that Kylee be moved from foster care into the care of a relative. 

Dixon - who has mainly been communicating with Kylee via phone calls - told KGW 8 that the next court date is scheduled for September and that she will file a motion for an emergency hearing if Kylee is scheduled for surgery before the next date.