(10/24/06) CENTRAL ISLIP - Prosecutors claimed Tuesday a Mastic mom accused of denying chemotherapy for her daughter never followed up after demanding a second opinion.

Prosecutors say Ursula Loscalzo did not allow doctors to treat her 5-year-old daughter with chemotherapy for cancer. Loscalzo, who is on Medicaid, maintains she simply bruised her doctor's fragile ego when she asked for a second opinion. She says the doctor has a bias against people on Medicaid and never took the time to explain the treatment options to her family. Prosecutors, however, claim Loscalzo never took her daughter to get a second opinion. They also say her six children live in terrible conditions. The prosecution states the daughter with cancer drank from a moldy bottle.

Loscalzo is charged with child abuse, neglect and endangering the welfare of a child. She faces up to a year behind bars for each charge. Child protective services placed the children in foster care and Loscalzo may permanently lose custody regardless of the trial's outcome.