To begin, I accept my fate wherever it takes me. I’m 74 years old and I have had a great life with no regrets. Many of you who may be reading this need to understand, that sooner or later everybody dies of something, so get over this “illusion” that somehow, doctors will make you live forever. [Which is exactly what they want you to think…] Once you make this admission to yourself, you will be in a far better position to enjoy what life you have left.
I did thorough research prior to my visit to Cleveland Clinic in April of 2019, and I have this to say:
NOBODY has EVER died of prostate cancer! However, hundreds of thousands of men have died of metastasis from prostate cancer.
Long story short: Statistically, there is not one protocol treatment for prostate cancer that will extend your life…NOT A SINGLE ONE! It’s all false hope presented by intentionally misleading doctors whose only interest is to fleece their desperate patients. Every protocol treatment in the prostate cancer “business” will ONLY make you miserable, destroy your quality of life, make the doctor a lot of money, and accomplish NOTHING. As a result, right or wrong…I have chosen to wait and see what my natural fate will be.
So alternatively, what can a person do? I for one am looking at Medical cannabis/THC possibilities. For me, there is no other choice, and I see little risk. i.e. What have I got to lose? I perceive that my biggest risk would be to listen to the “doomsday doctors” who want to treat me for monetary gain by following prostate cancer medical protocol treatments which have a PROVEN history of destroying a man’s life.
It has been 1 year and 3 months since my biopsy and diagnosis. I have a source for the RICK SIMPSON Cannabis/THC treatment, but I have not yet succeeded in getting to the daily doses required, so I have absolutely NOTHING to report. My problem is that I own a business and I am very busy man. The effects of the Simpson meds prevent me from “functioning.” i.e. All I want to do is sleep…sleep…sleep! However, my plan is to try again after summer is over at a time when I am not as busy.
As a result of pursuing the CBD/THC options, I sent the following e-mail to “US too International” on November 20, 2019. I did not receive a response to this e-mail, and I will leave it to those reading this to form their own conclusions why:
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From: Bob Griffioen
Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2019 4:36 PM
To: ‘TimothyM@ustoo.org’ <TimothyM@ustoo.org>
Cc: chucks@ustoo.org’ <chucks@ustoo.org>;
Subject: US Too International subscriber question: Can medical Cannabis cure Prostate Cancer? Let’s find out!
RE: US Too International subscriber question: Can medical Cannabis cure Prostate Cancer? Let us find out!
Purpose of this e-mail:
To acknowledge the apparent bias of the medical industry against investigating CBD/THC as a possible cure for cancer, and then motivate them to begin the necessary studies.
Tim,
I listened to the entire live podcast Prostate Cancer Pathways, a Webcast presentation in Chicago Sat. November 9, 2019. Prior to the podcast, I submitted this question to you:
Will the protocol for treatment of prostate cancer by the medical industry ever include Cannabis and THC? I have read a lot about this as a possible option that, to my knowledge, the medical industry is totally ignoring.
Some background information:
Fact: Despite what the medical industry proclaims, prostate cancer does NOT kill anyone. However, if it metastasizes to another external organ, THAT can kill the victim if left untreated. I say this because in my opinion, from my personal experience, doctors diagnosing a patient with prostate cancer is like shouting “fire” in a crowded movie theater…instant panic, anxiety, and depression. My perception is that this is an attempt by the doctor to “scare” the patient into treatment not knowing that he may eventually regret it, since possible side effects are “brushed off.” i.e. My doctor gave me the impression that the potential side effects were “not a big concern.”
I had a prostate biopsy at the Cleveland Clinic April 30, 2019 and it indicated that I had prostate cancer that was “contained within my prostate capsule.” I was assigned a Gleason 3 + 4 (G7) score which I am told is slightly better than a 4 + 3 G7 score. The doctor called me on my cell phone and said, “You have prostate cancer and we need to take your prostate out RIGHT NOW!” I told him at 73 years old and having Type II diabetes, that I was not going to treat it with any of the existing options available such as removal of my prostate, partial surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, cryotherapy, pellets, immunotherapy, etc. If I am one of the lucky ones where the cancer remains in my prostate capsule, I will never die from it. Hope springs eternal. My doctor took note that I had “attitude” and admirably offered to do a “risk assessment” test [OncotypeDX] using Genomic Health, which I agreed to do at my expense.
My Genomic Health report indicated that I have a 1% chance of dying in ten (10) years [at age 83] and a 10% chance of metastasis within 10 years. All things considered that looks pretty good to me considering the choice I have made. i.e. NO treatment. From my own personal research, ANY treatment at age 73 offered by the medical industry’s current protocol statistically will NOT extend my life. (This can be confirmed for those that want to do the online research.) The medical profession ALWAYS downplays (as they DID in the Nov. 9, 2019 podcast) the terribly debilitating side effects of ALL the treatments available thus making my (and anyone else’s) quality of life miserable for the rest of our lives. The follow-up requirements such as repeated biopsies, likely radiation treatments, possible chemotherapy, never-ending visits to the doctors, etc. turn EVERY victim into “a professional patient.” i.e. Once you commit to ANY of the current protocol treatments for prostate cancer, you “belong” to the medical industry “for life,” and a miserable one at that in spite of what one of the guest speakers in the Nov. 9 livestream podcast portrayed. From my research, the medical industry appears to go “out of its way” to intentionally “deceive” people into treatments they later regret due to what I perceive is the industry practice of not disclosing the dire side effects that go with every single one of the treatment options. My own doctor tried to “scare” me into having my prostate removed “immediately.” I did my homework before my appointment and I knew exactly what he was going to say, and I was right. My prostate had to come out “if I wanted to live!” Many of these dire side effects are not discovered until it is too late and there is no turning back. Please note that during the live podcast, one of the questioners from the audience got up and complained about that very fact.
We all want to live, but nobody gets out alive so the question should be, “How do you want to live whatever time you have left?” My choice, as I have indirectly expressed in this e-mail, is to “take what I can get, enjoy what time I have left, and then let nature take its course.” However, since I am refusing medical industry protocol treatment options, I realize I am on my own, and have been doing what any person would do to try to stop the cancer.
In that regard, medical Cannabis caught my attention, and I have researched everything I can find both pro and con. Subsequently, I concluded, “What have I got to lose by giving medical cannabis a try?” My family agrees with this choice.
Getting back to the reason for this e-mail, the question I submitted prior to the broadcast might be awkward to answer in a positive way since it would be counter to medical industry protocol, and might even have offended some of the guest speakers. I was not surprised that the question was not presented, nor would I be surprised if it is never presented. After all, who would dare question medical industry protocol? However, I am bringing it up again in this e-mail because I believe it is in the interest of US Too International subscribers to know about possible [albeit unproven], treatment options beyond the understandable biases of the medical industry. There is a LOT of information available on the internet about how cannabis “cures” cancer, credible or not. In my research, I have found that the “standard protocol” talking point for the medical industry is that “there are no studies that prove cannabis cures cancer.” But then, how could there be? As brazen as this statement admittedly is, a person could easily speculate that the last thing the medical industry would want is a cure for cancer. After all, it is no secret that the “big money” is made in the treatment of ailments. There certainly is no profit possible in a cure for an ailment so why do tests that might develop such a cure? My online research confirms that [paraphrasing] “the medical profession cannot generate revenue from cannabis since it cannot be patented.”
I don’t mean any disrespect to the speakers at the November 9 podcast nor to the medical industry, in general, when I say this, but based on my personal experience in conjunction with my own research, I have come to the conclusion that doctor priorities seem more focused on making profits at the expense of the desperate people who are searching for a cure. I am sorry if that offends anyone but that is what my personal perception is. I have also found that many of the medical “experts” resist being questioned about alternate possibilities that might cure their patients.
I am hoping by bringing this up that US Too International will initiate a position with the medical industry that will eventually result in the exploration of alternate possibilities medical cannabis and THC may offer. Michigan, where I live, allows medical cannabis/THC treatments for those that qualify. A good starting point would be to review both a “negatively” cast article and a “positively” cast article which I have attached as well as having included the links below for accessing online. (There are countless articles on-line both pro and con.) My conclusion, as a 51-year experienced Mechanical Engineer, [BS/ME June 1968], is that no one really has any proof that medical cannabis/THC does or does not cure cancer. The self-proclaimed “experts” in the medical industry that say otherwise simply have no basis for their claims until true studies are done. Engineers base their work on testing and proving their claims. The medical industry can only speculate when they have no data to support what they say. The medical profession appears to be reluctant to do the proper testing of cannabis because it just might work as a cure for cancer, and the ramifications of that are obvious. I think most informed people already know it’s ALWAYS been about money…end of story. I do not think that will ever change…
I offer this as my final speculation summary and I don’t think this will be a surprise to anyone:
The medical industry has many spokespersons permeating the internet who are very adept at pushing a rationale against cannabis/THC studies. They are equally adept at protecting their industry protocols which are the sources of the high profits they obtain. All you must do is read the comments by the proclaimed “doctors” when you click the link to the Rick Simpson article. The public would be served better if the medical fraternities supported studies that would produce the scientific proof of their claims which are currently unsupported in fact. They constantly rationalize their opinions basing them on “anecdotal evidence” and nothing more. The first example below is typical of many doctors who claim to be experts against cannabis. There are no studies to cite the “ineffectiveness” of cannabis treatments, yet many claims otherwise:
1. Here is an example from the comment section of: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/909178 Rick Simpson Oil: Cancer Cure or Pipe Dream? (Full article below**) by a doctor who makes “conclusive” claims about cannabis, which he provided no foundation for. I also have attached all 103 comments that followed the article.
“For over two decades I have researched and read every article I could get my hands on to best understand the real and not so real properties of this plant. In vitro cancer cell death is not the same as in vivo. We know that, but a huge number of laypeople have no clue and will argue all day and night. There is no point in arguing with them. Cannabis for symptom treatment is dynamic and can easily replace opioids for all but the most intractable, acute pain. Unfortunately, it stops there, but so many extol these non-existent medical properties.” My question to this doctor: “Where are your documented studies that back up your claim? If they do not exist, why don’t you and your fraternity instigate the necessary studies and prove your unfounded speculative claims?”
- Here is a statement by an honest doctor that the above doctor should pay attention to:
“I can’t say there’s no way whatever he makes works; we just don’t know, because it’s never been studied. Best answer long time now. I guess studies are better than fighting.”
- And below is the best doctor statement of all:
“Interestingly I started reading a lot about Rick Simpson when I had a terminally ill patient I was trying to help. As an MD, I started out skeptical and as I read story after story, I became more intrigued. There is journal from an MD with metastatic prostate cancer who (scientifically) tracks his course from start of RSO to his curative end.* Rick claims he tried to share his findings with medical higher ups, but was always turned away. Yes, there are some scientific studies which show anti-tumor effects of cannabis, but agree no human studies, why not? Why isn’t anyone studying this possibility and either disprove or prove it? if it can enhance the immune system akin to immunotherapy, maybe it can be used alongside conventional therapies. I have to believe the all mighty dollar will prevent any research in this field.”
* https://www.cureyourowncancer.org/dennis-hills-story-beating-prostate-cancer-with-cannabis-oil.html
There is your answer everyone! It has always been about money, which is why any doctor who makes a claim AGAINST cannabis as a possible cure does not have a clue whether it works or not. EVERY doctor has a conflict of interest because he or she is protecting his or her own source of income.
The “uninformed” sheeple [i.e. gullible victims] in the public domain accept many doctor speculations as fact. These doctors, for me, have no credibility due to their obvious conflict of interest. Many of these so called “experts” are the main trumpeters against doing ANY research into medical cannabis possibilities. They like things the way they are.
I, and probably another million people or so, speculate their motivation has ALWAYS been: “If a cure for cancer is discovered, how would the medical industry regain the lost revenues gleaned from treating cancer?” Same for diabetes: Treating diabetes worldwide brings in $825 billion per year. [https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/diabetes-cost-825-billion-a-year/ (NOT FACT CHECKED!) If this is true, who in their right mind in the medical industry would want to find a cure for diabetes? Regarding the Rick Simpson article, at least the “pipedream” of a possible cure for cancer is far better that the despair offered by the current protocol for prostate cancer treatment and its debilitating side effects.
I am 73 years old and I have had a good life with no regrets. For now, win or lose, I prefer hope over despair. For me, my life ends now if I choose current prostate cancer protocol treatment. If I choose other “unproven” means to treat myself that do not ultimately work, I am dead anyway so what difference does it make? At least I will have had hope on my side instead of a catheter bag…
This e-mail is my best effort to express my personal frustrations and opinions. I would bet that many other subscribers to US Too International feel the same as I do…assuming they are informed. Unfortunately, most are not.
You have my permission to forward this e-mail to anyone you believe might have an interest.
I look forward to future e-mails, etc. from US Too International.
Thank you.
Robert Griffioen, Subscriber
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** Rick Simpson Oil: Cancer Cure or Pipe Dream?
Kate Johnson
The story of Rick Simpson and his namesake cannabis oil has made him a hero to some and a menace to others. Simpson’s claim that he used the oil to cure his own skin cancer has spread online like a viral tidal wave.
The recipe for Rick Simpson oil (RSO), which he says he has never sold, is translated in 72 languages on his website, which also carries first-person stories extolling the product’s “miraculous” properties.
Doris’s 20-yr-old granddaughter was diagnosed last fall with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and went through standard chemo and radiation ‘treatments’. She suffered severe burns to her esophagus and was unable to take food or fluids. We began giving her the oil about six weeks ago. Her cancer is in remission, no sign of it… You are my hero, sir!
—Testimonial on Rick Simpson’s website
But clinicians familiar with Simpson and his cult-like following take a different view.
“It’s terrifying,” said Adam Friedman, MD, professor of dermatology at the George Washington School of Medicine & Health Sciences in Washington, DC. “This guy’s gotta be stopped.” (Credibility alert: Huge conflict of interest…very typical comment from a so-called “expert” who wants to protect his income source.)
In fact, for those who believe that randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies should guide evidence-based medicine, this is the kind of story that makes you want to pull your hair out. [What “evidence based” medicine? There are no studies. That is the point.] “I have patients out there claiming on the Internet that cannabis cures cancer, but they seem to forget that they also had chemo and surgery,” said oncologist Donald Abrams, MD, professor of clinical medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.
Because he is a cannabis expert, Abrams also hears frequently from people outside his practice who believe that cannabis cured their cancer. “Do we know that these were really cancers?” he asked. “Patients send me these emails all the time. Many times, they never had a biopsy. Maybe they just had an infection, who knows?”
‘A Healer, Not a Dealer’?
The Rick Simpson story begins back in the late 1990s in a small town in Nova Scotia, where he began growing his own marijuana plants in his backyard.
He then made highly concentrated extracts from the whole plant, first to treat a head injury and later to “cure” what he says was basal cell carcinoma on his arm. Thrilled with the results, he started giving it away to ailing friends and neighbors, and teaching others how to make their own oil, which was highly psychoactive, with 90% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
This harmless non addictive natural medication can be used with great success, to cure or control cancer, MS, pain, diabetes, arthritis, asthma, infections, inflammations, blood pressure, depression, sleeping problems and just about any other medical issues that one can imagine, he writes on his website.
That is the kind of messaging that drew attention from the start of his journey and still resonates today. A message posted on the website states: “Due to the overwhelming amount of emails we are now receiving everyday … we simply cannot keep up with the demands the public are now placing upon us.”
But despite Simpson’s apparent popularity, the Canadian is an exile from his country.
Growing marijuana was not legal there when he began his self-treatment, and as soon as he gained some notoriety, he attracted the attention of law enforcement officials.
When the Canadian Mounted Police raided Simpson’s property in 2005, seizing his cannabis crop, they “netted 1,190 plants that a police marijuana expert said would yield 83,000 grams of usable marijuana that would take a heavy user more than 76 years to smoke,” according to local news coverage.
Simpson was charged with trafficking, but even then, there were hints of the legend he was to become.
“Justice Cacchione said Mr. Simpson truly believed the paste he made and gave away cured diseases like cancer,” wrote reporter Tim McCoag for the (Amherst) Chronicle Herald.[1] “He said that Mr. Simpson, unlike any other trafficker he had seen in his years on the bench, did not grow marijuana … to gain a profit. Mr. Simpson also told the court that he distributed the oil free of charge to about 300 people who wanted his cure.”
Though Simpson was hailed by supporters as “a healer, not a dealer,” his philanthropy was not enough to absolve him, and after a few more run-ins with the law, he finally left Canada. On the basis of limited correspondence with Medscape, Simpson and his wife, Danijela Smiljanic Simpson, currently use a mailing address in Zagreb, Croatia. Requests for an interview went unanswered for several weeks; Danijela Simpson finally responded that an interview would not be possible for several more weeks.
In the meantime, she wrote, they are busy shutting down “scammers” who use Rick’s name to sell their own RSO online.
Oil called “RSO” is actually a thick, viscous syrup, usually sold in needleless syringes to allow for dispensing tiny amounts. It is available at many dispensaries where marijuana is legal.
Folklore vs Evidence
Ironically, some outspoken critics of Simpson actually [did] find some merit in the use of cannabinoids as medicinal therapy. Dermatologist Friedman, who described the Simpson phenomenon as “terrifying,” is something of a cannabis guru himself, having coauthored scholarly articles such as The Therapeutic Potential of Cannabinoids in Dermatology[2] and Cannabinoids: Potential Role in Inflammatory and Neoplastic Skin Diseases.[3] He’s had “some success” using cannabidiol (CBD) oils, which are not psychoactive, for chronic wounds and inflammatory conditions such as hidradenitis suppurativa. But he draws a line at claims about cancer.
“I think there’s a role for cannabinoids in managing symptoms and inducing appetite,” Friedman said, “but my issue is him saying this cures all cancer, which is an absolute lie, [proof??] and a dangerous one at that.
“Each type of cancer is unique in how it behaves, how it interacts with the immune system, what signals it will create or respond to,” he continued. “To say that one thing will treat everything is absolutely idiotic. I think he’s actually doing significant harm to the medical cannabinoid world by making outrageous, unfounded, non–evidence-based claims.”
For Mark Kirchhof, MD, PhD, head of dermatology at the University of Ottawa, in Ontario, Canada, the RSO story is a symptom of a larger problem of misleading claims made by medical cannabis dispensaries, both in the United States and Canada.
“Our data indicate that the suggested and advertised uses of medical cannabis are largely unsubstantiated,” he wrote in a recent dermatology article.[4]
“The claims are broad and varied,” he explained by email. “Some [dispensaries] use vague language and generalization, with claims that cannabis can cure cancer or treat inflammation, as examples. In reality cancer is not one disease but thousands. Every cancer behaves differently, so cannabis would need to be tested for each type of cancer.”
Similarly, the term “cannabis” can be used to mean different things. RSO is highly psychoactive because of the high concentration of THC and low level of CBD. In contrast, many CBD oils and other products have little to no psychoactive effects and are even available over the counter in areas where marijuana is legal.
Abrams, an oncologist and integrative medicine specialist, has published at least 13 articles on the medical benefits of cannabis, but his most recent article sums it up: “Although there is a growing body of in vitro evidence and data from animal models suggesting that cannabinoids may have some antitumor effects, evidence from human studies published to date to support such a claim is lacking.”[5]
Yet, “the cannabinoid 1 receptor is one of the most densely populated receptors in the human brain, so it might make some sense that cannabinoids may have some activity against a tumor that may be expressing a lot of this receptor,” he added.
While the complexity of treating and curing cancers makes it hard for the scientific community to swallow the claims about RSO, the man behind the oil continues to capture the imagination of thousands of people yearning for comfort and a cure.
“We should never underestimate the power of suggestion,” said Friedman. “There’s no question there’s a mind-body connection, so if you believe something will work, you are going to get a benefit…
“I can’t say there’s no way whatever he makes works; we just don’t know, because it’s never been studied.” [That’s the whole point of my e-mail.]
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Below was my response to Gene Slattery when he requested a “summary” from me:
Gene,
I have sent you a great deal of information in the past that only a very dedicated person would read. And now, assuming they might be interested in CBD/THC treatment of cancer, you have requested specific information regarding CBD/THC possibilities. This forces me to send you an ENORMOUS number of personal e-mails pertaining to this subject in order to provide useful answers. I see no practical way to summarize all of these because they all pertain to me and my personal research. I am also sending you e-mail “strings” between the initial doctor [McIlroy] from “WEED THE PEOPLE” as well as a “string” between me and my supplier of RSO [Rick Simpson] product designs.
You may recall the e-mail I copied to you that I sent to “US Too International”, which was intended to politely “chastise” the medical industry for its failure to do the studies necessary to form possible new treatments for cancer utilizing CBD and THC. I was also trying [by innuendo] to insinuate that all the medical industry really cares about is money, and has no regard, whatsoever, for the feelings of the patient. (The Anthony Horan article you cited amplifies that fact…)
Gene, as you know, I have chosen not to be treated for my prostate cancer because none of the treatments have been proven to extend life. They additionally ONLY make you “miserable” until the treatment itself kills you. In my opinion, it is a fraud, and that is all there is to it. Prostate cancer does not kill anybody, but potential metastases can and does. The treatments themselves only create anxiety and lifelong despair for those that buy into the medical industry’s fraudulently represented protocol. The one thing that offers hope beyond current protocols is the effect CBD/THC treatments might have on cancers of all kinds, not just prostate cancer. However, as I implied in my e-mail to US Too International, the medical industry has no desire to pursue that because “there’s no money in it.” So, anyone choosing that route is completely on their own, as I now am.
My story began on April 30, 2019 at the Cleveland Clinic. I was only going there for a second opinion regarding a tumor discovered “within” my prostate by Multi-Parametric MRI at Ann Arbor, Michigan. However, the doctor called me on my cell phone as I was driving to Cleveland with my family on Interstate 80 […4 hour drive one way…] and “coerced” me into having a biopsy since “he had an opening” and “I was already on my way there.” A few days later, I watched the documentary “WEED THE PEOPLE” on Netflix which showed progress treating cancers with THC. I went on the lady’s website (who appears to be the founder of Aunt Zelda’s), and was directed to a “Dr. McElroy” whom I sent an e-mail to tell my story. I then scheduled an “online” appointment with him to get started. Prior to the appointment, I sent him all my medical information regarding my prostate cancer. (I may have copied you on his reply. I will send it again as a duplicate reference.)
I then obtained my Michigan marijuana medical card which allows me to legally obtain treatment with CBD/THC. I further found a reliable, licensed, and certified person who was able to supply me with RSO Quality grade materials as shown below:
I have all I need to proceed, but I am having great difficulty with the high dose THC effects. I tried to follow the above protocols by escalating daily dosages over a 90-day period (on and off) from January 9, 2020 through April 19, 2020 but I never “plateaued” to full dosage. I plan to “start all over” at the end of summer.
Anyone who chooses this route must make a strong commitment to follow the protocol, since it will cause him to spend most of his time sleeping. At least that has been the effect on me, and I therefore have not stuck to the program. It is just the wrong time for me. However, I plan to continue trying. My plans caused me to stop for a period of time enabling me to concentrate on important matters which I had to attend to. I have attained the high dose levels required a couple of times, but only by administering them as suppositories along with sublingual tincture drops as directed. Truthfully, I am all over the map on this protocol and I just have not been successful at the commitment.
I am forwarding to you many e-mails that give easy access to the on-line research I did along with my e-mail strings which speak for themselves. Some articles are about using suppositories. There are those that believe they work and those that do not. MY EXPERIENCE SAYS THEY DO, if the time is taken for a WATER enema at bedtime and THEN the suppositories. I make my own using simple gel capsules that you can buy online. I fill the gel capsules with my own “mix” and the rest is easy. After all, why not put the medicine where the cancer is?
Gene, now, I am not able to contribute much more than a lot of research articles, along with my own personal attempts regarding treating myself in this manner. Notwithstanding, I have been taking a slower approach, experimenting as I go, with what I can tolerate.
I should also mention to you that since I have chosen NOT to partake in ANY of the protocol treatments currently offered by the medical industry, that there is no point in my EVER having another biopsy or PSA test. i.e. it does not matter what the results of each is because I am not going to treat anyway, so why should I create “artificial anxiety” when I do not have to? At least my own pursuit of possible help from CBD/THC treatment gives me hope.
So, for my contribution, it boils down to just the research I have done, and that I am an experiment in progress. I will offer any updates I can.
Let me know if you have any questions.