Pubdate: Sun, 02 Feb 2014
Source: Daily Review (Towanda, PA)
Copyright: 2014 The Daily Review
Contact:  http://www.thedailyreview.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1015
Author: C.J. Marshall

MARIJUANA IS NOT ALL BAD

Back in 1997, I suffered a bout of cancer which almost cost me my life.

I won't go into the gory details of what happened, but I will say 
here that I am definitely grateful to the surgical team who worked 
very hard at correcting the situation, as well as the rest of the 
doctors and other medical personnel who are the primary reason I'm here today.

Instead, I'm going to talk about my recovery, because what occurred 
during that period forms the subject of today's column.

While in the hospital, I was informed by my doctor that I could opt 
to undergo chemo-therapy as a follow-up treatment. Or, he said, I 
could take my chances and not do anything. If I picked number 2, he 
said, the was a 60 to 40 chance - in my favor - of the cancer 
returning. If I decided to take chemo-therapy, he continued, the odds 
improved to 75 to 25 percent.

It didn't take me long to make up my mind. I had just gone through 
major surgery to correct the situation, and I wanted to take every 
precaution possible to prevent the cancer from re-occurring. So, I 
opted to undergo chemo-therapy treatments for six months.

Incidentally, before I continue, I've been cancer-free ever since. 
And thank God for that.

I paid a hefty price - gladly mind you - in order to have that 
happen. Because as anyone who has gone through chemo-therapy will 
tell you, it is no fun at all.

For those who haven't experience it, certain chemicals are introduced 
into your system over an extended period of time which are deadly to 
fast growing cells - such as cancer cells. Unfortunately, there are 
other fast growing cells in your body - particularly those involving 
hair growth - that are also affected by such treatment. This is why 
many people undergoing chemo-therapy go bald. It's an unfortunate but 
necessary side affect.

I lost some of my hair during the treatment and could live with that. 
But chemo-therapy also produces other side affects which are even 
less pleasant. During the six months I was undergoing treatment I was 
constantly battling nausea on a daily basis, as well as an over-all 
sense of fatigue which constantly left me drained.

My doctors gave me some drugs to off-set the situation, and it did 
help a bit, but not nearly enough. Day after day I went into work, 
fighting to keep my stomach under control (and many times losing). 
Even worse was the constant "drained" feeling, in which all I wanted 
to do was lie down and go to sleep. Unfortunately, this was not an 
option - I had a job and just couldn't afford to take a leave of 
absence for the six months I was in treatment. And yes, I am 
extremely thankful it only lasted that long; because I have heard of 
those requiring constant treatments over a period of years to keep them alive.

As the treatment continued and I worked my way through the misery, I 
changed my opinion concerning the possibility of using marijuana for 
medicinal purposes. Previously, I had heard that marijuana could 
alleviate the symptoms associated wit h chemo-therapy. Before I had 
to undergo it, I was against the idea, figuring that the convention 
ways of dealing with the symptoms should be sufficient. But when I 
had to go through chemo-therapy myself, my opinion on the subject 
made a 180-degree turn.

The fact that marijuana alleviates the more miserable symptoms of 
chemo-therapy was no doubt discovered by accident. Recovering cancer 
patients who were also illicit marijuana users probably noticed that 
many of the symptoms associated with chemo-therapy were alleviated or 
even disappeared whenever they smoked the "devil weed." They passed 
this information on to others and it became an open secret within the 
medical community, as well as society in general.

What many people forget is that marijuana is a drug and that like 
other drugs it has its advantages if used properly, and well as its 
drawbacks if abused. I confess, if I had had access to marijuana 
during the period I was undergoing chemo-therapy treatments, I would 
probably would have smoked it. Because dealing with the nausea and 
the miserable lethargy on a daily basis is quite frankly unnecessary, 
given the fact that marijuana is so easily available. I believe 
Pennsylvania and other states should give serious consideration to 
legalizing medicinal marijuana under the circumstances, given the 
fact it could help to alleviate the suffering of those who are 
undergoing chemotherapy to stay alive. Such a thing would make life 
much more worth living, under the circumstances.
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