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Posts with tag legalization
Posted Jun 10th 2006 10:38PM by Dalene Entenmann
Filed under: Alternative Therapies, Drug, Chemotherapy, All Cancers, Politics, Smoking, Celebrity news
When
Montel Williams testified before the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee in favor of medical marijuana for chronically ill patients, he referred to himself as
a poster child for pot. Williams, who hosts a television talk show, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis almost a decade ago.
MS can cause debilitating pain. For those who might be unaware, let me share with you that Williams does not exaggerate. My sister-in-law suffered from MS all of her adult life, before losing her life to MS at the age of 40, and I will tell you first-hand, there is suffering. When I think of all the life that MS stole from her, and all that she endured, I feel frustration towards anyone who would have denied her the best quality of life available. I am fed up with the lack of compassion of those who would deny anyone suffering from chronic or life-threatening disease the best quality of life available to them. For Williams, it is medical marijuana that offers him the best quality of life possible.
Continue reading Montel Williams: poster child for pot
Posted May 23rd 2006 6:36PM by Dalene Entenmann
Filed under: Alternative Therapies, Drug, Chemotherapy, Lung Cancer, Prevention, Politics, Smoking
There are as many carcinogens in marijuana as there are in tobacco, but researchers were surprised to find that people who
smoke marijuana are not at an increased risk for developing lung cancer. In fact, marijuana smokers might be receiving a weak level of cancer prevention. People who smoke cigarettes are definitely at a greater risk for developing cancer as a result of smoking, and the more they smoke tobacco, the greater the risk for cancer. But pot smokers do not seem to share the same risk.
According to researchers, and the research, even very heavy, long-term marijuana users who had smoked more than 22,000 joints over a lifetime seemed to have no greater risk than infrequent marijuana users or those who never smoked.
Wondering why? Researchers believe it is the THC in marijuana that acts as protection against the damage experienced by any carcinogens a marijuana smoker is exposed to while smoking. Past research has shown that THC has anti-tumor properties. So much for
that argument against medical marijuana use.
Posted May 16th 2006 8:36PM by Dalene Entenmann
Filed under: Alternative Therapies, Drug, Chemotherapy
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Cesamet,
a synthetic cannabinoid, THC, for treatment of nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy in patients when conventional antiemetic treatments have failed. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 70 to 80 percent of patients undergoing chemotherapy experience nausea and vomiting.
Current medications to relieve the side-effects of nausea and vomiting only work for less than half of cancer patients during chemotherapy. Cesamet as a prescription drug should be available in less than a month. Synthetic THC acts on the brain like the THC in smoked marijuana -- but eliminates having to inhale the otherwise harmful smoke contained in the illegal drug. Recently, the
FDA made a public statement that it did not support the use of medical marijuana.
Posted May 2nd 2006 1:11PM by Dalene Entenmann
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Alternative Therapies, Drug, Chemotherapy
"On the night of my first round of chemotherapy, exactly six hours after I left the oncologist's
office wondering what all the fuss was about, my stomach tumbled into my knees, my knees refused to work altogether,
and I crumpled to the floor in a clammy, shivering heap.
I lay there until dawn, at one
point vomiting on myself, at another crying that I'd rather die of cancer than undergo chemo again." Breast
cancer made me a criminal is a Boston Globe opinion piece written by Lynda Gorov -- a breast cancer patient who
shares a personal account of the misery she suffered from the side effects of chemotherapy treatment and her choice to
turn to the possible use of marijuana for relief. She pulls no punches and makes a good point, by way of using herself
as an example, for the benefits of medical marijuana use and the ludicrous stand the government has taken to the
legalities of marijuana for medical purposes. If you are sitting on the fence on this issue, or have never gone through
chemotherapy and might not appreciate the grueling life-debilitating experience, her editorial is a
fair
one to read.
Posted Apr 21st 2006 1:36PM by Dalene Entenmann
Filed under: Breast Cancer
I have kept this post in the pending file for two days because something inside me is deeply opposed to giving
these groups any more media attention or blog time than they manage to attract on their own. But, as a breast cancer
survivor, I have become aware of an emerging new twist in the agenda regarding the fight to overturn the legalization
of abortion that is so disturbing and offensive, I feel compelled to share the observation more than I feel compelled
to denying these groups attention. This post is not about abortion. This post is about a group using cancer in a veiled
attempt to further the political agenda for overturning the legalization of abortion -- in what appears to be an
anything goes tactic of justifying the means to achieve the ultimate goal.
Continue reading Abortion: scarlett letter for breast cancer
