Cannabis and cancer

[Barbara H.]

Hi Steph and Jen,
Steph, your letter to Jen is moving and from the heart. I also lost my father this past April, and am still having a hard time of it. He would have been 94 this past summer so I feel fortunate to have had him for so long.
Jen, both you and Sheila were inspirational to me and gave me a glimmer of hope when I found this site after progressing to stage 4. Sheila reached out to me and helped both my husband and me navigate the issues of my insurance company approving the Tykerb/Herceptin combination I needed. Both of you have such generous hearts, and not a day goes by that I don't log on to see how Sheila is doing.
My thoughts remain with you Jen, and I keep hoping for a miracle.
Barbara H.

[Jen]

Thank you Steph for your heartfelt post. I cried as I read it. I know many of us on her2 have lost parents to something whether it be cancer, or another illness, or accident, etc.. and I realize that there are people out there younger than me that lose parents. Sometimes I feel selfish after I post on here knowing that I am not the one fighting cancer or dying. I am so full hurt and pain and rage over the things I know I cannot control. I feel so helpless and I HATE it!!!! I hope I have never offended anyone on here with anything I have ever posted as that was not my intent. Please know that I respect each and every one of you here even if I don't always agree with your point of you. I as well as my Mother Sheila have always felt like the people on this website were "family" because we all love and care and want the best for each other and that is familes do (or should do) in my opinion. Thank you everyone for being there for my Mother Sheila as well as her family. We truly appreciate it.

Love,
Jen

[Jen]

Steph I have watched parts the movie "Living Proof" starring Harry Connick Jr about the drug Herceptin I believe it was on Lifetime. It made me cry and it was very educational as well as emotional as Herceptin helped my Mother for many years when she was healthy enough to take it. I wish Herceptin could have been her "cure" but it wasn't. I will continue my research I won't give up because my Mom is worth it!!!!

[Jen]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdN5GyTl8K0

[Patb]

Great song, with great message. Just my opinion but
I would eat brownies all day long if I thought they would
help and nothing else had. Remember only my thoughts. One day we all come to this point, be it
cancer or what else but we have the right to chose
how we treat it.
patb

[conomyself]

Ellie had mentioned Rick Simpson...I have listened to an interview with him, and his work is compelling. If I remember correctly a course of treatment would be about a pound of bud, refined per the instructions on his website. A pound would be cost prohibitive (not to mention possibly felonious), but if you're in a legal or medical marijuana state you can grow it yourself much cheaper.

If you google Rick Simpson Interview, there are a lot that come up, and IMO they are worth a listen.

[Jackie07]

I thought some of the very strong pain-killers I was prescribed after surgeries (the latest was hysterectomy in Jan., 2010) contain classified ingredients. They were very effective.

[DanaRT]

Jen, I was honored with the chance to meet your mother at Breast Fest '09 in northern Indiana. Sheila made such a positive impression on all the survivors. She is a loving, strong, smart woman.

Interesting you should post about cannabis. My husband has been researching the positive effects of cannabis for several months now. Mostly, as a sleep aid (for me) since the doctor will no longer prescribe ambien.

[karen z]

Three years ago I heard (twice) at SABCS that "the stupidest cancer cell is smarter than a room full of brilliant researchers" and I have never forgotten that line. Since that time I have almost viewed cancer cells (and their morphing ability) as villains in a science fiction movie- that can do almost anything- and often do. That is what scares me when I do get scared. Getting cancer at any age is not fair nor is having a loved one getting cancer. The same is true of many other diseases/situations.
I learned at eight years of age (when my father died of Lupus when no one- not even the great doctors at Cleveland Clinic knew how best to treat him) that life was not fair. I am 61 years old and think of my dad everyday and still cry most weeks. I was older when I lost my mom. She died at the age of 70 and started to develop dementia at age 63 so I lost her "slowly" and pretty early - as these things go. I understand how cheated many of us feel....how I feel. I would give anything (truly anything) to simply see my mom or dad one more time or be able to smile at them or talk to them one more time. Time hasn't really helped me. I learned early on that life dealt me some bad stuff and that is the way it was going to be. My dad was in his mid 30's when he died. After third grade...............I had no dad and I now do not have my mom. I feel (very much) like an orphan with a still broken heart. So, I don't know what to say except that life is often not fair and many of us have had things happen to us (personally and to our love ones) that are close to unbearable. Still, we must try to go on day by day. I honestly do not know what else to do.

[Ellie F]

Hi Karen
I was so touched to read your post it brought tears to my eyes. I am not sure you ever really get over the loss of a parent no matter what age they or you are. I lost my mother and best friend suddenly and in very difficult circumstances twenty years ago. Not a day passes that I don't think about her and miss her. When I was a teenager a lady in her fifties told me that since losing her parents she felt like an orphan,how I recognise that feeling now. We bring our children up to believe in fairness and justice yet life is inherently unfair.As you say we just have to go on sometimes in unbearable situations.In terms of bc my onc says until we understand both sides of the coin, good medicine AND the intricate functioning of the immune system then we will not find our cure.
Ellie

[karen z]

Hi Ellie,
It is true- we never get over the loss of a parent, no matter what the parent's age or our age. I have had a hole in my heart since I was eight and there is nothing that can be done to fill it- it only got larger when I lost my wonderful mom and saw her slip away from me day by day. I absolutely feel like an abandoned orphan and, again, would do anything to just be able to see (if even from afar- that is how bad it is) my mom and dad I have found that nothing can fill this particular void- years of therapy, an anti-depressant...........We do often have to go on sometimes in unbearable situations......and make choices about how we will/must handle. Things are a bit worse for me now.......divorced and about to have my daughter go off to college but if I am honest with myself- the parent-based hole in my heart (and inability to fill it) has really been there since my mom came home from the hospital and told me and my brother than our dad had died. I go on (as you do) the best I can. It is not often a pretty picture (!) but I try day by day. I feel best when I can do things for others- that is how I was raised and what the religion I was raised in taught me to do- to try and move forward and, especially, help others in even more pain than I am- and there are plenty out there to help. Your oncologist is correct.

[sarah]

Stephanie, Jen, Karen, others,
It's so very hard to watch a loved one suffer. My mother was ill and in and out of hospitals for the last 4 plus years of her life. She had Apalstic anemia. I was 32 yrs old when she died, my father died quickly of a heart attack the year before so I didn't see him suffer but I did watch my sweet Mama. I miss her all the time. Soon after she died I went to a screening of the movie Terms of Endearment. I cried silently through it, I had been the Shirley MacClaine character, my Mama had been Debra Winger. I was angry, I was sad, I went through so many emotions during her illness. Like you, I fought for her. I still feel the pain. I slept on her hospital bed the last month, going home in the morning to shower and make phone calls.
I can't tell you how many times I was called over those years and told to come to the hospital that she was dying - sometimes that required a 5 hour plane flight. I'd arrive and she was fine and happy and surprised to see me so know that doctors aren't always right and that patients are stronger than we think.
Also like Stephanie, I received what I believed was a death sentence (invasive cancer recurrence) but here I am 8 years later. things can turn around.
Jen, you must remember to take care of yourself. Your mother would tell you that also.
I appreciated the time I had with mine to talk to her about how much I loved her and also to let her know I would be ok. I hope you have a good support group to help support you. Karen's right, helping others, helps also but we can't always save everyone we want to. In my local cancer support group, we have lost 3 young women (one aged 38) who were such lovely, caring people, it's been a hard year. We're a small group.
Your mom is very special and I know how much she has helped others. Why not try the cannabis and see if it helps at least with the pain.
hugs and love
sarah

[Jen]

Thank you for your sharing your touching and heartfelt stories with me. I cried while I read your posts knowing that some of you have experienced the emotional pain and know the depths of despair that I am now in. I wish we lived in a more 420 friendly state as a pound of good Indica will cost at least $5 grand the felonious risk doesn't bother me as I would risk getting a million felonies if it meant saving my Mom. My Mom gave me life and I want to give her, her life back for everything she has done for me and my children. I am now going to look into raising money and procuring the "contrabud" I need to make the cure that my Mother's life depends on. Please Pray that time does not run out and I can "get er done".

Jen

[Jen]

If I can pull this off and it WORKS it will give new meaning to the phrase "There is no hope without dope"

[rhondalea]

Well, Jen, that made me laugh out loud.

More seriously, I hope it works.

[Jen]

I hope it works too. I am afraid of my Mom objecting to this kind of thing tho. Sheila is very anti-drug and pot isn't legal for any reason here in IL....

[sarah]

Good luck Jen and a big cyber hug.
love sarah

[Pray]

Gods blessings to you and your Mom Jen. You are both always in my prayers. Peace my friend.

[Jen]

DanaRT Cannabis indica may have a CBD:THC ratio 4–5 times that of Cannabis sativa. The effects of indicas are predominantly physical and sedative. That is what you need.

[CoolBreeze]

Very simplistically, you can't cure cancer, because cancer is not one disease. It is a constellation of a variety of things that go wrong in a human body that cause cell overgrowth, and pretty much every cancer is different than any other.

Now, cervical cancer is almost 100% curable but it wasn't always. Now, it is preventable with the HPV vaccine but it wasn't always. Nobody is keeping a cure from anybody and if there was one cure, it would be very profitable indeed.

Saying you found a cure for cancer would be like stepping on one ant and saying you've killed every one in the world. Not possible.

California has had legalized pot for several years. You have to get a doctor's note but anything qualifies you - back pain, headaches, etc. You go to pharmacy doctors and pick up your prescription right there, you don't get it from your own doctor. Then you can choose what you want. It is still against federal law so the growers get in trouble - you can only grow for personal use. It's kind of complicated and I don't smoke nor have interest so I don't pay much attention. But, there are a zillion potheads who also get cancer.

We won't see a cure in my lifetime and it's not because "big pharma" doesn't want a cure, it's because it's too complicated a disease.