Mammograms, Malignant Glioma, and Marijuana

[Ms.Grat3ful]

So this doctor sets her up an appointment with his choice of radioligist for more in depth tests of the region in question... in 4 WEEKS!.... He sends her to a facility and puts her on a drip of Dilantin to relieve the seizures and prescribes Depakote... and of course this is on top of 'chemo brain' and Xanax and not to mention my Mother was a pretty heavy drinker (but that's a whole different story:wink .... other than her thought process being slow, depth perception, left side weak and her balance being off for a while she seemed to look ok, so many people still thought she was getting better... They just thought she was suffering some side effects of the chemo therapy and she didn't really correct them... But that is the point and time she cut off from everyone publicly... she didn't answer or talk on the phone hardly... she didn't really want to see anyone... she relied on my to communicate and relay to her what was going on... she understood me best becasue I would break it down and I spent many years taking care of her when she had been drinking too much and this was like that, kind'a... but I know that I made her feel, not so stupid because I am her daugher, and she could forget stuff or say stuff wrong and it'd be OK... we'd just laugh it off... but for everyone else she had to keep it together, or so she thought.....

.....at that time Mother was fine with waiting 4 weeks just to see someone about what to do, while I had an absolute FIT, it had already been over 2....
...and when we are talking life and death in matter of months YES 2 weeks, matter! but, I think for those couple weeks she was in complete denial and it was her way of staying in control as long as she could... but it wasn't long with me hounding her everyday with, Are you sure it's ok to wait this long and just treat it, I mean what if it's serious Mom, what if we are looking at 'time' being very short.... come'on... SO, we talk to the oncologist and he was just SHOCKED that this doctor had put off some serious decisons that was costing time in us KNOWing WTF EXACTLY we were looking at... It was the not knowing I think that drove me the most crazy, cause I can't just trick myself into thinking everything's gonna be alright, in my early personal experiences, they were'nt alright.....
SO.... The Oncologist changes our radiation doctor and we are set up for an appointment for a Brain Biopsy.... yep... the next step was to drill in her head and get some tissue....
.....
so.... don't ever assume your doctors are communicating... Stay on top on it... they are busy busy busy and unless You MAKE yourself a priority they will not tend to you like they should, so be a PAIN in the ASS... call that doctors office as much as you want... Make your voice known to them and they will have to tend with you.... They will ignore you if you let them.... That's the lesson I learned in this part of the ordeal.....

She had the surgery and I found this old thread that I had made at the time... interesting to go back and read my words of thought at the time ..... http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=18524&highlight=malignant+glioma
........ for me, anyway.... ... kind'a just freakY!...

 

[Ms.Grat3ful]

.......
After she came back from the Cancer clinic she was really depressed....
.... realllllly depressed..... we all were...
It was comfirmed... Free of Breast Cancer but sadly going to Die of Brain Cancer.... ....
......................................................................................................
.....
Looked it up and most all the site said 97% of the people diagnosed with this health declines and are gone within' 6 months... yes, 6 months since on set of symtoms....
..........................................to be continued......

 

[Ms.Grat3ful]

Mom, Marijuana and Me

Mom, Marijuana and Me

.... to give a little history on Mom's and my relationship is to recap since I
was 13 years with many ups and downs, friends, jobs, locations, drama and step-daddies... she knew I was getting high with my friends and it became something that we connected with because, well, she liked it too.... but no one could ever know that I was allowed to do this with her.... she always like jobs of recognition and power... she liked being in charge, so to speak... so, we had this secret friendship and she had a steady supply of dope cause I always had the hook-up ..... and I could pretty much do what I wanted, until I screwed up, like kids do and piss her off or something.... lol...

........but what do ya expect to happen when you try to reign in a teen/young adult that has entirely too much freedom and power in such a relationship and I ended up making some horrible choices of my very own...... cause of course to her, it was the Ol' do what I say, not what I do.... and nah, I was gonna do what I wanted to...lol.....
but...... we were so kewl... we partied together... checked out guys together... by the time I was 16 we was going to clubs, I had a fake ID... I mean, damn, for a teen looked like I really had the life... but it was full of drugs, drinking, sex, wayyyyy too adult for what I needed... so by the time I was 21 going to the bar was like NO Big deal.... as a matter of a fact we had to drive to a different town because people in the town we lived in thought I was older than I was, cause I worked in a bar, LMAO!!......

so.... then you have years of us always toking together...

..... the current 'dad' who don't smoke but is a drinker, pretty heavy... one main reason that he and mom got a lot so well, is that they would go get slammed and that was their thing...

ok... pot's still mine.... ......... but remember, we still have our secret relationship.... No one knows but I always supplied her and she could have her public life and stoner one too.... but see, that was our thing... so she knew how much this trip meant to me... Not just the IC, she had no clue about the friends I wanted to meet... all she knew was my love of cannabis from a very early age...... something we connected on many levels was cannabis, esp at the end....



............................................to be continued........

 

[Mrs.Babba]

:smile: :kitty:

 

[pieceofmyheart]

Man, I am just sitting here crying while reading this. I can feel your pain, but writing this and telling others will help other people. Everyone needs to understand how important it is to be in charge of your health, don't blindly trust Doctors. Ask questions, get more opinions.

I am so sorry for all you have gone through Ms G. and I know how hard it is to tend to a sick parent...I know all too well.

 

[Ms.Grat3ful]

...... I appreciate your support more than you'll ever know ladies and I really am doing alright... I remember you talking of your parents pomh but don't remember the exact specifics, but your dad passed not too long ago, right?
I think about what happened with mom all the time and it's hard but I need to get it out.... It been swirling all around in my head for months and I am getting better, I think, lol...
..... better at talking about it without just flipping out and getting all upset/pissed/depressed/ect when I talk about it.....

...... and no matter what life goes on and we gotta go with it....

so, thanks ya'll.... :friends:

............................................................ .......... :wink:.......

 

[Ms.Grat3ful]

Originally posted 12-11-05

Originally posted 12-11-05

This was the post I made back then..... I had found some information on how cannabis was the best thing for this type of cancer... I knew it wouldn't save her life, but I thought maybe it could help her say, more herself if it kills glioma cells.... but of course just the buzz and eating enhancement alone helped her quality of life, I saw it with my own eyes...
:smile:

Marijuana's Active Ingredient Targets Deadly Brain Cancer

By Liza Jane Maltin
WebMD Medical News


Feb. 28, 2000 (Atlanta) -- If results of a recent rat study hold true in human trials, marijuana could be the treatment of choice for patients with malignant glioma -- an especially aggressive and often fatal form of brain cancer. No, rats haven't started smoking pot. But when researchers injected tumorous animals with cannabinoids -- the drug's active ingredient -- about a third of them went into remission, and another third lived significantly longer than untreated rats. The findings appear in the March issue of the journal Nature Medicine.

The study does not mean that smoking pot will cure cancer in humans, says Daniele Piomelli, PhD, author of an editorial accompanying the paper. "What it does show is that in about one-third of animals injected with a potent cannabis mimic, the cancer disappears and in another one third, it is reduced. Given the seriousness of malignant glioma, it's a very important observation that deserves to be followed up," he tells WebMD. Piomelli is professor of pharmacology at the University of California in Irvine.

According to lead researcher Manuel Guzmán, PhD, his team's previous studies showed that cannabinoids could stop growth and kill cancer cells but did not harm normal cells. The current work examined the action behind this effect and whether it would also work in living animals. Guzmán is a biochemistry lecturer at Complutense University, Madrid.

The researchers first caused tumors in the brains of 18 rats. They then injected the animals over the course of seven days with either a natural or artificial cannabinoid, or a placebo for comparison. Additional groups of healthy, tumor-free rats also received the various treatments.

All of the untreated animals with tumors died between days 12 and 18, but those treated with the cannabinoids lived much longer, and had significantly smaller tumors. Approximately one-third of treated animals showed no response at all to the cannabinoids, indicating that the treatment might not work for all patients. There were no negative side effects at all in the healthy animals receiving treatment.

According to Guzmán, in the body there are two kinds of cannabinoid receptors, or parts of a cell that the cannabinoid connects with like a key fits into a lock. Once connected, the receptor is activated or "turned on." In the brain these receptors are called CB1, and in the rest of the body they are called CB2. In another set of experiments, the researchers tested exactly which of these receptors had to be activated in order to cause cancer cell death. They found that the cannabinoid was activating both receptors. Guzmán says activating either of the receptors is enough to induce cell death, while blocking both completely eliminates the effect.

It is only CB1 activation that induces marijuana's euphoric or "high" effects, says Guzmán, so if we could "specifically activate only CB2 receptors, we could kill the cancer cells without producing any kind of psychotropic effect." Unfortunately, however, the cannabinoids that would only activate the CB2 receptor are not yet available for experimentation.

Both Guzmán and Piomelli express concern that ethical debate over medical marijuana use will hinder future investigation.

"It is stupid," says Guzmán, "because if these compounds were present in pine leaves or lettuce, then most likely things would be different. But they are present in marijuana, so it's controversial ... which is nonsense. Hospitalized patients are given morphine and other drugs, but for some reason, it's considered immoral to give them cannabis."

In Piomelli's opinion, placing restrictions on clinical use and testing of marijuana-based therapies is "not only silly, it can be criminal. When patients are dying, there should be no consideration to such matters," he tells WebMD.

Malignant glioma is "fairly common and very deadly," Piomelli says. "I believe it would be ethically acceptable to offer [cannabinoids] to patients, especially in light of the fact that the toxicity is likely to be very, very small."
links:
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=5752
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/21/1728_55298

now, you may ask.... What is Malinant Glioma and Why are you so interested Ms.G....??... a brief description would be this...

Malignant glioma is the most common primary brain tumour in adults. It generally presents with epilepsy, cognitive change, headache, dysphasia, or progressive hemiparesis.1 Diagnosis is usually achieved by appropriate imaging studies (figs 1 and 2) followed by biopsy or surgery.2 3 A randomised trial shows that the median survival after surgery for patients on steroids alone is only 14 weeks compared with 38 weeks after radiotherapy.4 The two year survival after treatment is only 5-10%.5 6 Although radiotherapy to the brain prolongs life, neurologists and others remain uneasy about the trade off between survival and quality of life.7 8 9 For most patients, even after treatment, increasing disability and death occur by one year

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/479004?src=search
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/313/7071/1512

now, begins the second part of the story... Some of you may recall My
Mothers Breast Cancer thread in the womens forum... Well, I closed it because my mother started having serious health issues and I nor anyone else was just exactly sure what was going on.... Symtoms included Focal Seizures, Left side of the body going cold and numb, Weakness, and Headaches....

Well... 4 weeks, many doctors, a few other diagnosis's and a brain biopsy shows that she has Malignant Glioma... A diffused brain tumor, meaning it's spread out over parts of her brain instead of being a hard mass that perhaps could have been removed... She is home from the hospital for a week and so happy to be here... I of course am providing her with as much hash and cannabis that she can stand... She says it makes her feel so much better and really calms her nerves...
Her left side is really giving her problems and now has somewhat of a depth perception things going on but is able to get around and is still herself... '

so, IC family, We are off to a Cancer Clinic week after next...
Wish us luck, eh?...

oh and, I guess too what I am wanting to know is if anyone else has experience with this cancer?.... It is my understanding that Sativa' work better on this, anyone know?

If cannabis could cure Cancer, they would tell us right? click here

 

[Ms.Grat3ful]

12-21-05

My heart goes out to you Harry.... and many Thanks to the responses and pm's that I have recieved with support and friendship....

Mother has returned from MD Anderson Cencer Center in Houston with a second and expert opinion after reveiwing all the evidence, we are thrown some new, yet similar words that is to be the final diagnosis.... it is diffused, inoperable and spreading pretty fast....

Malignant astrocytoma glioblastoma Grade 4 .....







I am sure some of you have noticed that I haven't been around and it's because I am busy taking care of her as her health is declining before my very eyes The holidays will never be the same.... and how i will tell my son that grandma may not get better, i just can't think about right now....

I think I am taking a break from all this internet stuff.... I have seen silly goofy trolls posts, people whining, people lying, people getting mad over stupid shit, I have seen compromised security for members on more than one occasion, just because someone got mad.... when the reason we are here is to share a loved hobby that happens to be illegal and I tell ya LIFE is too fucking short for all the Bullshit, People...
I am tired, upset, lonely,grumpy, sad, worried, mad, and yet somewhat grateful that she wasn't snatched up in an instant... If ya really think about Time is all we got... make good use of it!...

..............so Hopefully I'll see and meet many of you at the cup 2006' .... but for now I am out'a here for a bit....

............Talk to the H3ad...

I can't exactly remember what the hell was happening around here but I was so absorbed with Mother's health I was fed up with everything and everybody.... but the trip was still in the back of my mind... I had obligations... I wanted so bad to meet some of these people that had been such good friends and some who I had really hit it off with online... so, of course I was determined to focus on Mom... what mom wanted, what she needed, and what she was thinking....
....and she had another choice to make....
...
6 weeks, 5 days a week radiation on her head... pin-pointed to treat the area where the cancer had spread.... they said, it works on about 45% of the people treated but this usually only adds 6 months to your life.... (let me add $2500 bucks a week for this 'treatment' too) ...and taking chemo by mouth that cost $6,000 for 2 weeks worth!!!... and still NO change, you are still going to die.....
....
other option, you can just take medications and live out the rest of your life whether it be 4 months or 6 or 10..... but peaceful, with your hair, not sick, not so crazy in the head....
....
and keep in mind she had just gone through all this chemo shit with the breast cancer that really was not even REQUIRED!!!!!!!..... and now they wanna do this other treatment while saying, you are going to die anyway...

lose - lose - situation, eh?.........

 

[pieceofmyheart]

...... I appreciate your support more than you'll ever know ladies and I really am doing alright... I remember you talking of your parents pomh but don't remember the exact specifics, but your dad passed not too long ago, right?
I think about what happened with mom all the time and it's hard but I need to get it out.... It been swirling all around in my head for months and I am getting better, I think, lol...
..... better at talking about it without just flipping out and getting all upset/pissed/depressed/ect when I talk about it.....

...... and no matter what life goes on and we gotta go with it....

so, thanks ya'll.... :friends:

............................................................ .......... :wink:.......

I believe it is good to talk (or type) your feelings, get them out and maybe you can help someone else.

My Aunt passed recently, we were extremely close, It was sudden, a heart attack.

But my mother is in the end stages of liver disease. She had auto-immune hepatitis, at the time of diagnosis, she was given medication that we all assumed was best for her. Well it wasn't, it has destroyed what was left of a functioning liver, so I do understand what you went through with Docs and meds and all of that.
She is too old and not healthy enough for a transplant, so basically we are trying to help her have some quality of life as long as she is here. She is on my mind constantly and seeing her hurt breaks my heart. She cannot take any pain meds because her liver won't tolerate it. She is 75, has arthritis and many aches and pains, it just sucks!

 

[Ms.Grat3ful]

I believe it is good to talk (or type) your feelings, get them out and maybe you can help someone else.

My Aunt passed recently, we were extremely close, It was sudden, a heart attack.

But my mother is in the end stages of liver disease. She had auto-immune hepatitis, at the time of diagnosis, she was given medication that we all assumed was best for her. Well it wasn't, it has destroyed what was left of a functioning liver, so I do understand what you went through with Docs and meds and all of that.
She is too old and not healthy enough for a transplant, so basically we are trying to help her have some quality of life as long as she is here. She is on my mind constantly and seeing her hurt breaks my heart. She cannot take any pain meds because her liver won't tolerate it. She is 75, has arthritis and many aches and pains, it just sucks!

I am so sorry POMH.... It is so frustrating to deal with these so called 'experts' ... I mean, gosh, they are suppose to 'know' what to do, right?...

...

 

[pieceofmyheart]

It will come sweetie, with time. At some point you will notice that you have some time here and there where you feel some joy and peace, then it will be a day, then a few days....it will happen but unfortunatley we don't control that time line.
I know you are thankful for those you have who are supportive, your husband for one. He will help you get through the pain and come out the other side, strong and at peace once again.

I am taking antidepressants now, a small dose and no I don't like the idea of it, but at this point in my life it is necessary. I know I won't be taking them forever, and I know all things do pass.

My prayers are with you that you wiil find peace in your life again soon.

 

[Ms.Grat3ful]

....and she had another choice to make....
...
6 weeks, 5 days a week radiation on her head... pin-pointed to treat the area where the cancer had spread.... losing her hair in those spots, being really really tired... doc said there was like a 2% chance of it making it worse.. most likely not to happen... the other option was to "her health decline rapidly within 4 months, best case we can add 6 months to that 4 equaling 10 months BEST CASE SENERIO but she will be sick and tired and lose her hair, again...
but the current dad insisted and she could not let him down she said... but who says what one will do in that sitation so, I can't blame her for taking that road, I guess... but My sister and I both told her she didn't have to do it... and quite frankly, she did not want to but she did it for him....

Standarized treatment.... They said at the 'special cancer' place "go have standardized treatments and if that don't work then you quailfy for clinical trials" .... I couldn't get over this, if it didn't work, then we can do something 'special' for you.... so what we got at that place was comformation that she was free of breast cancer and her brain cancer was indeede Malignant Glioma Astrocytoma Grade 4 and it's agreesive....

She started treatment 15 minutes in this tube every day m-f with them zapping her head with radiation...

4 weeks later she has a massive seizure... she loses complete control and strength in her left side, she can't see right, she is just out of it... confused so we rush her to the emergency room, where we sit pretty much all night waiting for something, anything, she is slumped over in her wheelchair holding her head moaning and just like she had a stroke or something, it was SO scary.... FFREAKY!!!... she finally got checked in and after a couple days and many unimformative visits from several doctors, I finally corner one of them and say WTF is up?!!!!.....
ok, we have medicated the symtoms but she has swelling in her brain and there is nothing more we can do....
....... ok, so what now?.... 'hospice' ......
http://www.hospicefoundation.org/
I do have to say, I don't know what we would have done without hospice... It is wonderful organization that helps people in their worst time... many don't have family to care for them, so if you are ever just wanting to donate, it would be a wonderful cause....

 

[Babbabud]

Such a wonderful daughter and person. We should all be so blessed as to have someone who truly cares so much.
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!

 

[Ms.Grat3ful]

I think so many unanswered questions, keeps me angry...
I will never know if the cancer was there before chemo...
I will never know if she hadn't done the chemo would she have gotten this cancer so soon...
I will never know how long the cancer was there before she got tested... I guess that leads me back to I KNOW she was overdue.....
...so I can't stress enough to get your mammograms, ladies.... don't put it off.........
Any kind of tests or health care, be pro-active.... You have to....



thank you Babba and I know if mom were here today she would say the same thing... I know her and I are A-OK...

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person. When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.


Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.



LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.


Thank you for being a part of my life,
whether you were a reason, a season or a lifetime!​

Someone sent the above to me in one of those silly emails, but it touched my heart that someone out there cares and isn't that what we all want, someone to care?....

We all must live and die with the choices we have made... :friends:

 

[pieceofmyheart]

That must be a "pay it forward" email Mrs. G. I sent the same thing to someone here at IC a while back. How very good to see it going around.

 

[Ms.Grat3ful]

That must be a "pay it forward" email Mrs. G. I sent the same thing to someone here at IC a while back. How very good to see it going around.

That is amazing' seein' how the person I got it from has nothing to do with IC .. ... frEaKy!.. lol...

I just know I am ready to move on.... get over it.... and get back to growing some budZ

Thanks ladies and gents.... ya never know just how far a kind word goes

 

[Ms.Grat3ful]

October
is
National Breast Cancer Awareness
Month
GET CHECKED!​

LINK
.... have you got yours?....​

I got my results today and I am good for another year... and like Mrs.B said, It just feels good to be sure...
I think that time can be your best friend or your worst enemy and knowledge is power in a sitation like this....
...and IF I could go back, I would have insisted my Mother go in to be checked months before she got around to doing it....

.... so, Don't put it off!!...

breast cancer awareness link

http://www.breastcancer.org/

RACE FOR THE CURE
http://www.komen.org/intradoc-cgi/idc_cgi_isapi.dll?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&nodeId=350​

thanks....

 

[Mrs.Babba]

MsG!!! :smile:

 

[bartender187]

Great news Ms G!

take care,
bartender187

 

[guineapig]

Something i just saw on the news is that doctors are now using FLIR technology to
identify tumors of the breast many months before a traditional mammogram is able to detect them.......

FLIR cameras currently are used to look for the heat signatures of a large indoor HID farm.....

Instead of being used to bust people,
now the cameras are looking at peoples' busts!!! LOL!!!!

All jokes aside, no disrespect to the ladies who started this thread......this is quite a
serious topic......i just thought it was ironic that somehow Cannabis growing and
Mammograms have strangely united in this new application of FLIR technology.....

Like Ms. G said, "don't put it off"......(guys, this goes for prostate exams too!!!).....

example of FLIR:



Eat well, exercise, and stay safe!!!!

kind regards from guineapig