“Your visit eased some of her fears and she had me go buy her some gummies after you left!”
It’s messages like this one that remind me I am doing the right thing.
This particular message came from a gentleman in his sixties, who shortly after he retired, was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. After a few treatments with immunotherapy infusions, and suffering the often disabling side effects, he decided he would give cannabis a try. It had been a few decades since he had consumed any marijuana, but living in OK, and seeing dispensaries everywhere he thought, “What can it hurt?”
For a few days after his infusions he wasn’t able to get out of bed, was depressed, and felt horrible pain all over. It took some experimentation with smoking, vaping, edibles, and oils, as it often does. There were times he was high, times it didn’t do much, but now he has a routine that gives him the relief he was looking for.
Cancer patients frequently look to cannabis for symptom relief, but also in the hopes it can fight the cancer itself. There’s promising research that cannabinoids could someday be incorporated into cancer treatment, but until its federally legal, it’s not likely to happen any time soon.
Rick Simpson Oil (RSO) is a concentrated form of cannabis I am frequently asked about and, although I have heard success stories from patients, I inform patients that from the research we have now, it’s best to discuss complementing traditional cancer therapy with cannabis with your physician, not rely on the cannabis itself.
During the visit this patient is referring to in his message, his concerned wife was there and rapid-fired question after question, myth after myth; “I always thought people just did it to get high,” “What negative effects does it have on your body?, “How does it work?,” “Could it help me sleep?”…
I guess my answers and the evidence I provided were sufficient because she wanted some gummies to help her to get to sleep that night.
April