By Jay Jay O'Brien
Certified Cannabis Wellness Coach and Educator

Winning The Battle! Losing The War

I’ve lost people to cancer. 50+ years after a ‘war on cancer’ was declared by American President Richard Nixon, turns out we’ve all lost people and the war.

The statistics are staggering. 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will be diagnosed with at least one cancer in their lifetime according to this report (1) from the American Cancer Society. The Canadian Cancer Statistics (2) show that nearly 1 in 2 Canadians will develop cancer in their lifetime. 

Billions of dollars (3) have been poured into research while tens of millions die slow/speedy, painful, undignified, and unnecessary deaths year after year. All this money supports research to provide better outcomes and improved survival rates to cancer patients, yet the ‘standard of care’ remains poison, cut and burn and our odds of getting cancer couldn’t be worse.

Cancer is a ‘dis-ease’. Dis-ease is caused by external or internal dysfunctions that arise due to a variety of factors typically reflecting what we put in, on, and around our bodies. These factors relate to imbalances that lead to inflammation, stress, and eventually, ‘dis-ease’. 

With this factor in mind, if what we put in, on, and around our bodies can create dis-ease, then it is only logical that these factors can also reverse it, Right? When there is an imbalance, we can bring balance back, but how? Where do we start?

Arming The Army

Thankfully, we happen to have an internal regulating system designed to maintain our bodies' “homeostasis”, which is the state of balance where our bodies perform at their optimum level. It’s called the Endocannabinoid System.

The Endocannabinoid System is the master control system modulating all the other cell systems of our body. Digestion, circulation, reproduction, lymphatics, and others are all regulated by this system discovered by researchers Allyn Howlett and William Devane at St. Louis University School of Medicine in a government-controlled study.

Within this internal system, we produce our own cannabinoids. From the Greek term “endo” meaning “within”, our endogenous Cannabinoids, or endocannabinoids, like anandamide and 2-AG, look and act remarkably similar to the ones made in the Cannabis plant.

Known as phytocannabinoids (phyto=plant), when there is an imbalance in the system endogenously, we have the Cannabis plant to supplement from. There are many Cannabinoids in the Cannabis plant. About 140 that we know of and more are yet to be discovered.

Human beings have had a long relationship with some of these Cannabinoids, most notably THC or scientifically, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol. And for good reason. THC has a wide range of medicinal benefits. Whether the goal is prevention, maintenance, management, or bringing back balance after a cancer diagnosis, THC helps to:

• Reduce inflammation

• Regulate immune function

• Relieve pain

• Induce sedation

• Regulate mood, anxiety, and depression

• Induce appetite

• Reduce symptoms of nausea & vomiting

• Inhibit the spread and development of tumor cells 

• Induces apoptosis (programmed cancer cell death)

Battle Scars

THC, when used correctly, can do all this and more. For me, it covered all the bases, starting with the deep, debilitating bone pain that half a dozen Percocets and maximum daily doses of Ibuprofen couldn’t touch.

My very first dose of Cannabis oil, otherwise known as "Rick Simpson Oil” (RSO) or FECO (Full-Extract Cannabis Oil), was approximately 20mg of THC, which eliminated my pain and my need for any over-the-counter or prescribed pain medications. 

The day before my first dose of Cannabis oil was the last day I took Percocet. The Percs didn’t do anything for me but made me feel constipated and depressed. Cannabis helped with that as well. (I’ve written an in-depth article ‘The Truth About Rick Simpson Oil’, that you can read HERE if you’d like to learn more about it.)

I started out at this 20mg dose and worked my way up to amounts as high as 1000mg per day in an attempt to heal my cancer, which I eventually did, but getting there brought healing on so many levels.

Launching The Attack

My use of THC had a snowball effect. The elimination of pain improved my mood, helping me to have a better outlook, leading to a reduction in my levels of anxiety and depression that came on with a vengeance after the diagnosis.

With no pain and a better outlook, I started getting out more and being more active. The increased activity improved my appetite and my relationship with food. My relationship with food wasn’t the only relationship that improved. The most impactful was a newfound relationship with myself.

In the deep states of euphoria I sat in while working on my tolerance levels with THC, I found a place where I could commune with my inner nature, my higher self. There, I cultivated acceptance for my role in creating the dis-ease in my body. In my acceptance I found forgiveness and in forgiveness, I found healing.

The late, great Bob Marley said, “When you smoke the herb, it reveals yourself to you”. I had myself revealed to me, all the pretty and all the ugly. It was a huge catalyst to my healing, a massive transitory experience over several occasions of use that changed not only my life but also the expectations of my death.

Raising The Green Flag

My oncologist offered me no hope for healing when they offered me the Stage 4 Non-small cell lung cancer diagnosis. All I was offered was medication that would stop the cancer from progressing, buying me more time. I was 43 with a 10-year-old son, so the 5 years they were prescribing just weren’t enough for me. I looked for an alternative to death and I found Cannabis. I found it because I discovered hundreds of stories of people who found hope for healing in the Cannabis plant and who are still alive today to share their amazing stories.

Check out the Cannabis Health Radio Podcast and listen to the hundreds of stories of people who have overcome dis-ease at all stages. Don’t miss episode #343 where I share mine!

The most inspiring stories you’ll hear are those sent home to “get their affairs in order” or told that there “is nothing more that can be done”, like the podcast's co-host, Corrie Yelland. Over 10 years ago, she was given 3 months to live after an anal cancer diagnosis. Refusing the “barbaric” treatments offered by her doctor, she discovered and implemented the use of Cannabis oil and is still alive today sharing her amazing message that #CANNABISKILLSCANCER. Follow her on Facebook HERE to keep up to date on all her success stories!

It was stories like Corrie’s that brought me to this amazing plant medicine and my life mission to help others so I’m hopeful that my story will inspire others to do the same.

Cannabis Is A Real Option For People With Cancer

Your doctor or oncologist, sadly, may not know much about it, but there are people out there who do, like me, like Corrie, and all the amazing members of the Effective Cannabis Newsletter who are out here trying to help others find hope for healing.

I’m sharing my message wherever I can, writing about it and creating course content so that I can make this information available to anyone who’s looking for it without spending months crawling in and out of rabbit holes as I did.

If learning about how to implement Cannabis through a cancer diagnosis is of interest to you, and considering the odds, I would say it should be, then sign up HERE for updates. The High Hopes for Healing 5-part Educational Series is coming in Fall 2023.

Cancer is overwhelming enough on its own and with no hope for healing offered by our doctors, we need to take our health into our own hands. By empowering ourselves with accurate and responsible information so that we can live well with hope or transition well with a better quality of life.

The Ticker-Tape Parade

There are many that hear the word cancer and think it a death sentence but I’m here to share with you that it doesn’t have to be. On 4/20 of this year, cancer that was deemed “inoperable, incurable, and terminal” in my body became completely dormant. When I asked the oncologist to show me evidence of any active cancer, they said they couldn’t. “Stable” and “unremarkable” scans no longer showed any evidence of disease.

I can honestly say that I am in the best health of my life and I offer so much of the credit to this incredible plant. Had I accepted the doctors' prognosis, as many do, I may not have been here today to share my melee with you.

At times like these, I always remember the words of Hippocrates, “it's not the disease that has the person, but the person who has the disease.” I couldn’t agree with this more! If you have a hope for healing, then you owe it to yourself to at least try Cannabis and see what it can do for you. You might just be ambushed with amazing outcomes.

ECN Editor's note: We strive to provide comprehensive and accurate information within the ECN. However, it is crucial to acknowledge that terminology in the field of Medical Cannabis is constantly evolving and subject to the general public's acceptance. This includes terms like FECO and RSO, which are often used interchangeably to refer to Cannabis oil. To gain a deeper understanding of this subject and to clarify the terminology, we recommend referring to the article provided here. It offers valuable insights and can help distinguish between these terms.

References:

1. American Cancer Society, “ Lifetime Risk of Developing or Dying From Cancer,” Last Revised: January 12, 2023 

2. Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology/Association, "Facts About Cancer" Updated: January 2022

3. National Cancer Institute (NIH), "Funding by Research Areas" May 10, 2022

About Jay Jay O’Brien:

Jay Jay is the founder and creator of naturalisticallynow and the Canecdotal Collective, where she educates and assists people with cancer, implementing Cannabis into their protocols. As a stage 4 lung cancer survivor and caregiver to her type 1 diabetic son, Jay Jay has learned that you truly do "get what you give", and with Cannabis, she believes we have the opportunity to give our bodies the opportunity to truly heal rather than just masking our symptoms. Through her own experience of healing, she has now made it her mission to share the capabilities of Cannabis with all who will listen.

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Effective Cannabis Newsletter is a platform to educate on the vital role of the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) in one's health. The information is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images, and information contained in or available through this newsletter is for general information purposes only. It is not medical advice; it is health awareness.