Is a Leap of Faith a Quantum Leap?

During my meeting with Dr. Mitch Kamrava, in the Radiology Department of UCLA, a few weeks back, I got to look at the MRI of my bladder and saw the two locations of the cancer, which looked smaller – or let's say less differentiated than I had expected. It is an art to read these files and usually there is – for the hard to interpret cases – an expert in every hospital, whose years of experience allow him to see if there is anything wrong. So we have to trust the expert, but in fact -- there was no large tumor clearly visible. Nevertheless – the standard treatment is a radical cystectomy – with a highly probable protective round of chemo and radiation after surgery.

   Now, I am over a month into my cannabis therapy, and have ramped myself up to a gram a day. (Ca. 50/50 – THC/CBD)
    Before I commit myself to a life with a colostomy bag, recurring infections, and a fairly possible death from complications during surgery, I would like to have one last try with cannabis oil -- which sounds a lot more desperate than it is!
   In this blog I have been trying to debunk a lot of myths about cancer cures, but also found credible information with many good reasons to believe that cannabis does kill cancer – we just don't quite know exactly how!
   According to the current theory, cannabinoids regulate and modulate the central nervous system and the immune system. Cancer cells have an abundance of CB1 and CB2 receptor-sites, which, when loaded with cannabinoids, commit metabolic suicide.
   A study by GW Pharmaceuticals in the UK mentions the dosage of cannabis oil as the possibly most important variable to determine if cannabis kills – or promotes cancer.
   Back to my meeting at UCLA:
   I was prepared like a lawyer fighting a death-penalty case – all the studies, the statistics were ready to roll over any bladder-amputating argument.
   But not so!
   My doctors are much smarter than me!
   Dr. Kamrava suggested that we wait two months for another biopsy, because that's enough time to see if the cannabis works, but not enough time to pass a point of no return. (I'm not suicidal!)
   So instead of fighting some narrow-minded expert, I was listened to, and we worked on a solution which would not put me at risk unnecessarily. I was elated!
   When I left the Radiation Department I felt more optimistic than I had for a long time. It is good to know I am not alone in this!

   Of course I'm coming with a lot of questions: How does one take it? Four times daily – a quarter gram? Or once daily – a whole gram (at night)? Is it better to peak with large amounts of cannabinoids all at once, or is it better to take small amounts regularly to acquire a stable level of saturation? Or: CBD in the morning -- THC at night?

   Also: Eat it with food – or put it into a capsule to slow down the process of absorption?
   And what would be a maintenance dose? These questions don't necessarily have an answer yet, and since a patient is regarded as cured only after five years – we will have to wait before we can holler victory from the rooftops.
   Now back on earth we have the very real problem where to get the precious oil? After all – even though it is legal in California – there are no rules and regulations determining quality, strength, and purity. The internet is full of tutorials on how to make your own oil, which gives you complete control over the product, but you also might blow up your house.
   I am incredibly lucky to have WAMM (Wo/men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana) in Santa Cruz supply me with the oil. Not only do they have the longest track-record in growing medical marijuana, they also have a very precise quality control. A fact that should not be underestimated!
   (That's what's so nice about pharmaceutical drugs – you always know exactly what dosage you are playing with.)
   I was taking a daily gram of a THC/CBD-mix approximately 50/50. When through some unpredictable circumstances the mail failed to deliver – I had still enough for a couple more days, always hoping it would arrive the next day. I ran out Saturday – and Monday was a holiday. I would have to stop and then ramp up again. As unpleasant as it was – I decided to turn it into a test, to find out what happens, when you go from a gram of oil down to 0.001 gram within a day. My previous experience with “marijuana-withdrawal” was a certain irritability in the evening, which would lead to a frantic five minute search of the apartment in case there might be a forgotten joint or something... and that was about the extent of the marijuana withdrawal.
   This is, of course, a little different in the size category!
   And it wasn't exactly enjoyable! I realized now how a certain harmony between the organs had installed itself, but now had no cannabinoids with which to regulate and modulate the endocannabinoids, and consequently every part of my body suddenly developed it's unique problem, and one organ after the other, including muscles and bones, fell out of sync.
   This goes along with my theory of how organs communicate with each other – I regard each organ as a self-regulating loop, made out of smaller self-regulating loops, which again are made of smaller self-regulating loops – down to the submolecular [cellular?] level. These self-regulating feedback loops are being fed with cannabinoids until they start humming happily. Then there is no more room for dysfunctional cancer-cells, and they die. Just a thought...
   I will have to add that it was very hot – California August heat – which didn’t help! Strangely the only part of my body that remained painless was my head. And I could not resist to take fairly small doses of vicodin to deal with the acute pain of the urethritis.
   I was miserable – no doubt about that.
   Wednesday the mail came!
   Right away I took a quarter gram – and could not believe what was happening. Within 30 minutes almost all the pain had disappeared -- it was a “take up your bed and walk”, said Jesus moment.
   Two days later I have ramped myself up to a daily gram again, and after the euphoria of this pain-free moment had disappeared – it turned into a whole different experience! Like the cannabinoids introduced a standard, by which all bio-chemical processes in the body would be regulated, and this standard helps to synchronize complex processes, far too advanced for my comprehension.
   After taking the cannabis oil for a while there comes a moment of saturation – when it feels like all the water of my body, including the water between the cells, is loaded with cannabis.
   I can smell and taste it! I'm drenched, it is penetrating every cell in my body.
   (This seems not to be an unusual sensation, because eating garlic or onions, or receiving chemo therapy – has a similar effect – I can smell it in my sweat.)
   Now I've relatively well adjusted to the large amount of cannabinoids – finishing this blog is proof that I'm capable to think of more things than three -- at the same time!

CANNABINOIDS FOR DINNER