Michelle Kendall, at 47 and a sufferer of terminal ovarian cancer isn’t a life-long user of cannabis. In fact, she didn’t partake throughout either high school or college. In an interview with the Cannigma she said, “I’m from the era of (former US First Lady and anti-drug advocate) Nancy Reagan and I was very scared of this stuff. I thought this was crazy but when you’re up against the wall you know you’ll try anything.”
Four years ago, Kendall was diagnosed and in the time since, has gone through eighteen rounds of chemotherapy and two major surgeries but admits she’s out of treatment options. She recently went through a 5-week round of cannabis therapy under the guidance of a physician and included 80mg of THC which she said “worked as well as any round of chemo I’ve had.”
Like other patients who have been through the wringer in every sense of the word with traditional medicine, Kendall won’t commit to any additional chemotherapy and said that she truly believes the cannabis has shrunk her tumor size as well. She’s taken on the responsibility of tracking her treatment and tumor growth at home and monitors how her blood test results correlate to her THC treatment plan. Today, she includes gummies during the day and a tincture dosage at night for bedtime.
In interviews with media outlets, she’s cautious and always states that cannabis “is not a magic bullet,” and when asked if she would recommend other cancer patients try cannabis as a treatment, she replied “it’s not a magic cure all. There is nothing in the pharmacopoeia that is going to save me,” Kendall said, adding that cannabis “may not be curative but I know that’s allowed me to live longer.”
Kendall makes a great point and we support her stance – it’s NOT a cure all and it’s not for everyone. But in situations like Michelle’s, when the plant can make this kind of difference in the life of someone out of options, it’s a great reminder that reform and legalization has made strides to make it possible.
(Photo courtesy of cannigma.com)