Battling With...Natural Alternative Treatments

Or you can call it cannabis, weed, pot, hemp, dope or one of the many names for it! 

What it’s called, how it’s grown and processed, how it’s taken and whether it’s really worth it – was so confusing for me when I first began looking into it.

I grew up not liking the “weed”. I saw it as bad, something to never do. I tried it a few times in high school and I hated how it made me feel. Having a “type A” personality, I always feel like I need to be in control of myself and the things around me (which does not make my husband happy at time!!! ha ha). When I was “stoned” I sure did not feel in control of my mind.

Now many years later, fighting brain cancer, I’m seeing the cannabis from a new view. My grade 4 GBM brain tumor keeps recurring and no longer responds to the standard chemotherapy treatment Temodar. My great neuro-oncologist Dr. Butowski at UCSF knows I’m hesitant to try other aggressive chemotherapies (because I want high quality of life while I am still alive!) but am more into mild “alternative” treatments, so he recommended I try the Medical Marijuana (MM).

He explained how there is more and more research showing that the THC and CBD in the cannabis can help fight cancer. I was very hesitant to delve into what I considered the bad weed, but at that point there was not much else for me to try. As a result, I officially became what I’ve always labeled as a “stoner”.

I was so overwhelmed when I first began looking into the medical marijuana. With questions like, where do I get it, what form should I consume it in, is it legal here in my state???? Since it has become known that I am taking the MM, I have been getting MANY emails / messages from people with the same questions I had when I started looking into it. Consequently I decided to update my web page and Facebook with what I do to share with others (otherwise my fingers get too tired typing the same thing over and over again!). 

So here it goes…….

I live part time in Oregon and California and found out it is legal in both states, so I got a legal “permit” in each. Here in the USA, to get it legally, you have to live in a state where it is legal and get it recommended by a doctor, then go through the process of getting a permit. I’m sorry I can’t be helpful for those in other states/countries. Probably the best web page to start gathering information is at www.unitedpatientsgroup.com or if you Google medical marijuana and the place you live, I bet you can find the info needed. That is where I started. After reading as much as I could about the medical marijuana for fighting cancer and talking with some experts, I decided to take the MM this way…….. (but I am sure it will change over time as more research comes out)

I get my cannabis in California from Mara at: Aunt Zelda’s, Inc. – California 215 Patient Care – Cannabis for Chronic Medical Conditions – Tel 510-604-9550 web https://azcannaoil.com

I get syringes of 10 grams of what is often called “Rick Simpson’s hemp oil” or “Full Extract Cannabis Oil”, which does not really look like “oil” but looks more like tar. It is black, thick, and sticky like tar. The kind I take is full extract made from organic ethanol.

My neuro-oncologist recommended I take a 1:1 ratio between the THC:CBD cannabinoids. From what I read on the internet, often people try to take 1 gram of it a day. There is no way I could ever take that amount! Like I said, I like to feel in control, and if I took that amount I would be like a veggie on the couch staring off into space.

Over time I realized that I could not take more than about 0.10 grams a day (0.05g of each THC & CBD), so I could still keep active and productive in life. Each person is different and affects them differently, so each person needs to figure out what dose they can handle.

Mara at Aunt Zelda’s recommended I take it through the 24 hours each day, to keep it in my system and get the best results, but I could not handle that. Dr. Butowski at UCSF recommended I just take what I can handle, that any amount I can get into my system can be helpful.

I get two syringes, one 10 gram syringe that has mostly THC, and another syringe of 10 grams that has mostly CBD. At 9:00pm I take the THC (about 0.05 grams or more). Then at 10:00pm I take the CBD (about 0.05 grams or more). Then go to bed and sleep like a ROCK! It really helps me sleep so well.

The THC and the CBD both work synergistically together to fight the cancer. Mara told me to take the THC one hour or more before taking the CBD, which helps them work better together. I can’t remember the details as to why, but since Mara said it, I do it! ha ha

The more THC I take, the harder it is to wake up in the morning. Some days, when I really want to get up early in the morning to do something active, I only take the CBD the night before.

I squeeze a tiny bit (about the size of a piece of rice or more) on a “Tic Tac” and put it under my tongue. If you eat it or smoke it, it does not absorb into your brain as well. So putting it under your tongue is the best way to take it. The oil does not taste very good; that is why I put it on a “freshmints Tic Tac”.

As I said, I never thought I would become someone who consumes cannabis daily. However, the more searching and reading I do about the medical marijuana and the more personal experience I have with it, the more convinced I am about its benefits not only for fighting cancer but also helping me sleep better and also helps keep the seizures away!

One week I went backpacking into the wilderness and chose to not take the MM because I didn’t want to be under the influence while I was in the wilderness 10+ miles away from the trailhead. Then sure enough, at 3am in the middle of the night, I had a simple partial seizure in the tent, in my mummy sleeping bag. It was so SCARY. Looking back I wish I had not gone off the CBD for the trip. What I have found out for me personally, is that if I stay on the CBD daily I do not have seizures. If I go off, I have some. Medical research has even shown the CBD helps extreme epilepsy.

When I travel away from home I don’t want to carry the syringes full of MM with me, so I got some empty capsules to squeeze the hemp oil into. Then I swallow the capsules with some water to digest it. Taking the MM in the capsules is not the best way to absorb it into your system, but it sure helps makes traveling with the medical marijuana much easier.

Cannabis also stimulates your brain to release more melatonin (which is what makes you more tired in the day if you take it!). In the past I always took 20mg of the Melatonin at bedtime (which is known to help fight brain cancer). But now that I am on the medical marijuana which releases more melatonin, I cut back to only 10mg of the melatonin capsules each night.

OK, I think I covered all I can. I am no “pro” about the cannabis, but I hope my 2 cents provided enough information to help others investigate the possible use of Medical Marijuana to help fight brain cancer (and also help control seizures and lack of sleep!).

UPDATES

10/19/2016 I have been taking the Medical Marijuana for 3 years now. Recently I have made some changes.

I stopped taking the high THC cannabis oil (still take the high CBD oil). I did not like how the THC made me feel. I truly want to survive the GBM, but at the same time, I want to have a good “quality of life”. I know some people take the THC for recreation, but the high dose I took to fight cancer, was WAY more than most people take for recreation. While on the THC I often had panic attacks and hallucinations in the evenings after I took it, and VERY “out of it” and fatigued in the daytime. I hated how I felt. Recently I have gone off the THC, I feel way better! Also, this last year, I have begun having many simple partial seizures (it may be cause by my recent Gamma Knife Radiation, or just long term damage from past radiation, chemo and surgeries). I had to start taking anti-seizure medicine, and when I took the two together, it seemed to make the “bad” side effects from both the THC and the anti-seizure medicine worse! So I decided to stop taking the THC for a while (or for good), to see how I felt. WOW I feel way better off the THC!

I still take the high CBD cannabis oil. What I get is called “AC/DC” and is basically 95% CBD, and only 5% THC or other cannabidoids. I still take the CBD at bedtime. I still put it on a “Tic Tac” and melt it under my tong. I do not have any of, what I consider “bad” side effects from the CBD. I faithfully take it EVERY evening, because there is much research showing it helps control seizures.

Acupuncture has been used in China and other Asian countries for thousands of years as a medicine. In many Asian countries and also here in the USA, there has been uncountable research done on the acupuncture which has shown that it can be helpful in many ways, with many illnesses, including helping people fighting cancer.

Acupuncture uses needles, heat and pressure, electrical like things, and some other things that I don’t even know the names of them. They are applied to one or more place on the skin all over the body, each place playing a different role. That is about all I know about Acupuncture, but that is all I need to know. The first time I took it all I could say was, WOW it’s amazing.

I never through I would be lying on a table with needles all over my body from head to toe. But I was blessed to hear about acupuncture from a friend I met, because her husband was also fighting brain cancer. She invited me to come and try acupuncture from her. I was hesitant. The thought of needles all over me was frightening. How could I lay there for a period of time loaded with needles? But because she was so nice and kind, I decided to please her and give it a try.

Again, I responded by saying “Wow, it was amazing”, I’ll start coming back often!!! The good thing is that my Blue Cross health insurance covers 2 visits a month, so that is what I do. If I could afford it, I would go in for acupuncture daily.

How do I describe it??? As soon as the needles are applied, I begin to relax and be covered with peace. I start to breathe softly; I close my eyes and feel like I can melt into the table I’m lying on. Some of the needles are applied on the bottom of my feet, on my legs, on my hands and arms, and on my head and ears. All over! And it did not cause pain, in the beginning I mostly flexed just out of nervousness. But after time, I did not even seem to notice when the needles were applied.

The needles stay in me for 30 minutes. I am so relaxed that I actually fall asleep and take a good deep nap. When she comes back and takes the needles out and it’s completed, I walk out the door as if I am walking up in the clouds. I’m walking smoother and softer; I’m so relaxed you would think I was on some anxiety drug! But it was just the acupuncture.

She applied the needles that are known to specifically fight the brain cancer, but also for anxiety and stress too. What is funny is that the ones that are supposed to affect my brain are the needles on the bottom of my feet.

So that’s all I can say about acupuncture. I will never really know for use if it helps fight the brain cancer. Since I’ve been on it, I have had recurrences. But if I wasn’t, would I have survived the recurrences? Who knows. All I know for sure is that it truly helps me relax and let the anxiety go; which in itself has been known to help fight cancer.