Breast Cancer Survivor Enjoys Remission After Doctors Supported Using Cannabis With Chemotherapy

A diagnosis of cancer is a life-changing event.

Many find themselves overwhelmed by the difficulty of navigating the road ahead, as well as the strenuous schedule of treatment protocols and innumerable appointment arrangements. The burden of undergoing such a process can be hard to bear.

To cope, many people turn to cannabis. Kim Stuck, CEO and founder of Colorado-based hemp and cannabis advisory firm Allay Consulting, was one of them.

"I know from my personal experience, it was the best thing I could have ever done," Stuck told Cure's Alex Biese. "I don't think I could have made it through without cannabis. I couldn't even imagine not having cannabis during that time."

Stuck, who recently spoke with Beniznga's Vuk Zdinjak on the topic of marijuana industry in Texas, received a diagnosis of stage 2 breast cancer when she was 38. In addition to her regular chemotherapy sessions, Stuck sought out alternative treatments such as cannabinoids and psilocybin.

In less than a year later, her cancer is now in remission, and she is actively campaigning for the use of cannabis among cancer patients.

To Stuck's surprise, a care team, including doctors who conducted the treatment, didn't oppose her decision to utilize an alternative approach to her illness.

"I went into my doctor's (office) and I thought I was going to be walking into a fight," she said. "But unbelievably, I was shocked, they were completely on board."

New Research

Cannabis has been gaining more and more attention as an additional treatment option for breast cancer. In recent years, the therapeutic effects of cannabis have been studied in-depth, and a growing body of evidence demonstrates its potential to help treat the disease.

In 2021, a study conducted by Hadassah Medical Center physicians revealed a sixfold improvement in killing breast cancer cells when using specific Cannabotech's medical cannabis products in combination with standard oncology treatments and drug protocols - chemotherapy, biological and hormonal, over the existing treatment.

Cannabotech is an Israeli biotech company that develops medical products based on cannabis and fungal extracts. Its CannaboBreast product series is based on a unique combination of cannabinoids and terpenes from the cannabis plant.

Another research that came from Greece revealed that lab-modified marijuana could help with the reduction of cancer cells and alleviate side effects connected to chemotherapy.

The study concentrated on cannabinoid acids in the marijuana plant. It showed that those acids, when modified into original chemical compounds in the lab, can significantly reduce breast, liver and skin cancer cells.

Prokopios Magiatis, an associate professor of Pharmacognosy and Natural Products Chemistry in the Department of Pharmacy of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, recently presented the findings at the 9th Panhellenic Conference of Applied Sciences.

Having in mind the growing body of research on cannabis and cancer, Stuck said that the research efforts are coming with a delay.

"I'm surprised it took so long for these (sorts of) studies to come out," Stuck said, citing how her aunt, who had breast cancer in the late '70s, used cannabis to help ease nausea and pain.

Photo: Benzinga edit of photos by Kimzy Nanney and  Angiola Harry on Unsplash