Episode 435: From Hospice to Healing: A Breast Cancer Survivor's Remarkable Journey

Welcome to Cannabis Health Radio, a podcast where we share stories from people around the world who are using cannabis as medicine. The information is meant to raise awareness about the health benefits of cannabis which should not be taken as medical advice. Now here are your hosts, Ian Jessup and Corey Yelland.

Welcome to Cannabis Health Radio. I'm Ian Jessup.

And I'm Corey Yelland.

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So many emotions, but overall, very, very thankful and blessed for sure. I mean, it's, yeah, amazing.

Yeah, I mean it is. When they told you that you wouldn't live past, you wouldn't even be past the new year, I mean, it's quite remarkable. When did your health issues start to impact you?

The health issues really impacted me probably at the end of November, beginning in December. I found the lump early in the summer, but the feeling of being sick really was more end of November, beginning of December.

And in October you were diagnosed with breast cancer, correct? October of last year?

Yes.

Were you, were you expecting to get that kind of a diagnosis at that point?

I had my suspicions. I've never really been a doctor goer, I guess, and through Covid and everything, I was quite frankly kind of scared to go initially. And I think that's why it Took me a little while to go in, but initially, I thought I had just a cyst. It had similar characteristics, and I had a cyst in the same breast. So initially, I wasn't really that scared. But as the summer progressed, I kind of already assumed myself what it was.

But nonetheless, when you actually hear those words, it has a huge impact. What went through your head when you hear that?

A lot of different emotions. I mean, when I actually heard the diagnosis, I was already trying to take my health into my own hands and changed my diet. And so I was already taking steps to try to correct it before I actually officially got the diagnosis. But again, I think I knew in the back of my head before it was actually told to me.

Yeah, it's. It's an emotional bombshell, you know, And I think that people go through a variety of emotions. I remember when I first got my very first cancer diagnosis, My first thought was, oh, my God, I'm gonna lose all my friends, because people are so uncomfortable around it. But, yeah, it's huge, isn't it, when it hits you like that? So when they give you that diagnosis, what are they saying they're gonna do?

Well, they wanted to do chemo and I think immune therapy and then do surgery. I've just always knew that chemo was not in my wheelhouse. So that was just something that I didn't want to do. From the very beginning, I knew that was not something that I wanted to pursue, which also kind of left me helpless as well, because oncologists don't really want to help you if you don't want to do what they want to do.

So what did you do?

Research myself. I had tons of people, ironically, just come forward who have healed naturally themselves. People come forward with information and try to do my own research. And I kind of have been down the research of the rabbit hole of the health and nutrition and things like that previously, just because, like I said, Covid. And then my daughter had an HPV vaccine that she had hair thinning from. So I was already researching and going down that way. It just kind of took me to get sick, to really put it in full force.

So did you end up, in the end, doing any of their traditional therapies or.

I did.

Yeah, I did. I did end up having to do radiation because what I had was very aggressive. I mean, and part of why I didn't want to do a mastectomy in the beginning was I knew a little bit about what I had, enough to be just a little bit. I didn't Want to do too much research, because mind is everything when you're trying to fight this. But I knew that if I removed it, it was going to come back with aggression. And so that's why I didn't choose to have the mastectomy initially until it was basically life or death. And again, it was very divine. Everything that had happened was just very divine, because it seemed like it had to happen in the way that it happened to get me to where I am today. And it's just.

This was stage four triple negative.

Yes.

Yeah. And this was fungating.

Yes. So a lot of rarities.

What I started to say to you when. When we had all that static before, before we came on the air was, in the 12 years that I have done this, to the best of my recollection, this is the first time that we've seen a woman clear with a fungating tumor. Like, this is massive in the cannabis cancer world. It's massive in the cancer world, period. It's massive that you have overcome this. And you're sitting here today talking to us about this. So you did some treatment, but you knew that you did not want to do that take it away right away thing.

No, no. And like I said initially, I just. I wanted to do everything organically. And I think that is a huge thing of why I was so successful is preparing my body for what they wanted to do to it. And ultimately, even when I had the large tumor, because in March, I had a tumor that was eight pounds that they removed, I think that I still just. My body had to be prepared for what the cancer or what the treatments were doing to it. And I do believe, and I think my doctors, especially my surgeon, seen that what I was doing was making huge differences, because up until I had my mastectomy, I was ridiculed for how I wanted to do things. And that's partly why I didn't go to the doctors very often, because it was so hard to climb out of that mental little pit hole that they would put you in. And, yeah, I just. I wasn't gonna allow that negativity as part of my healing journey.

Well, who's laughing now, though? Good for you.

And like I said, I do believe that they've. They see it now that I've been blessed with, because I've. I've heard people that, you know, they get real ridiculed, even until the end. And I think my doctors do know, you know, and they're very well about where. About the cannabis too. I haven't kept that a secret. I mean, they know everything that I've been doing.

Charity, did you say you had an eight pound tumor removed?

Yes, so in March. Because I was on hospice in March. And basically when you have a fungating tumor, they have blood vessels that kind of go haywire. And that was basically what was limiting my life as I was losing so much blood. In February, I kind of had a little mini bleeder that they thought I lost like a unit of blood and that left me very, very weak. But then about a month later, I had another uncontrollable bleed and I ended up having to go to the er, which led me to my mastectomy because I could have basically bled to if I would have continued with the way I was doing things. And I was. Up until this point they were telling me. Well, I wouldn't say up until this point, but later on, because of the side of the tumor, they were saying it wasn't even operable. And I've been told by different people that if it was another surgeon that would have came in, they probably would have just advised me to go see an oncologist and let me be. So I was again, very blessed with God has definitely ordained or divinely sent who I needed at the right time. I mean, it's, it's crazy tumors.

My experience with them is they generally cannot operate on them. That's, that's, that's the issue. Obviously what you did controlled it enough to get it down that they were, that she was, she, he was willing to take that step, step and do that surgery.

And it came out in one lump. Like it wasn't a bit, it was just all one.

Surprise me. Often your cannabis will encapsulate and they just have to lift out the lump.

Yes. So I mean, we were very, we were very hopeful that, you know, that it was a success. And oddly, I know I shared this with you, Corey, in previous conversations I had from being so sick. I had hemorrhoids really, really bad. And I. From the surgery, surgery to about a month when it started to grow back, I wasn't doing the suppositories because it was so painful. Which I also have a funny story on that because I was trying to give that end a little break. I thought, well, I've had a tolerance for this. I'll just try to take it by mouth. I took a whole syringe for you.

That's so ambitious of you.

Oh, my husband thought I was. Had like a stroke or something though, because I took a long nap, woke up a little bit with Some having some munchies. But yeah, I. It took me Probably a good 24 hours to wake up again.

But when you weren't doing that supposit, those suppositories, that cancer was growing big time. That's what happened. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

So. But yeah, it's a live and learn thing. And like I said, I. It was. Yeah. I. I really believe that that was. Is the key to what kept it contained. And I mean, my radiologist has expressed to my surgeon how he doesn't understand why it was contained. Like they expected it to be spread throughout my whole body, so.

Wow. Geez. I still can't believe that. I mean, I do believe it, but I just. It's astounding that you had an eight pound tumor. I mean, Pooh. It just kind of blows me away that my husband.

I wouldn't have been able to. Like, my husband changed bandages. Like he, he lived up to his marital vows. Like above and beyond. Like, because we were changing bandages and I was leaking lymphatic system and bleeding. Yeah. My husband basically took a year off of work. I mean, thank goodness. He was an amazing saver of money. But yeah, he took a year off of work. He just started going back to work a few weeks back. So it's. It's been a ride.

Boy, he loves you.

He does love me.

Yeah. I mean, that. That is absolutely wonderful. But then again, the other thing that is, the other thing that astounds me is that you took a gram orally and pooh.

Lips to tell the tale.

Yeah. I don't believe that. Yeah. I just don't think that's something that it proves that you can't really die from it.

No.

You might sleep for a week, but you're gonna be fine. Yeah.

On the other hand, I think it was amazing for healing on the. You know, I think maybe my body just needed that little jolt. Yeah. To just. You need some. You know. So again, I think it was healing. Do I want to ever do that again? No, I don't. But.

Corey, do you remember the. Remember the story that Bob Melamy told about his friend who took what, 40 grams?

40 grams at one time? Yeah.

Oh my gosh.

I said, bob. Oh my gosh. I said, you must. That must. What was he like? And Bob says, I was unable to communicate effectively with him for quite some time.

I think my husband can concur with just a little bit that I had taken.

Yeah.

It's like sometime my tongue was like hanging out of it. Like I said, he knew I was going to do it, but he didn't know I did it. So he was like, oh my gosh, what is going on with her? So. But funny, Funny story to. To tell, you know, down the line, I guess it wasn't funny at the time, but not to my husband anyway.

No. So very important to carry on with a maintenance dose there for sure.

Yes.

Make sure that you keep that up, because what you've accomplished is nothing short of a flipping miracle at some level.

And I don't want to do it again.

No, no. It really, really is. And triple negative is a difficult breast cancer. And the fact that you're here is wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.

Thank you.

It's a remarkable story. Yeah. Charity, when did you know that you were on the right path and things were going to be okay?

I, I think that's still sinking in, to be honest with you. I never, I didn't. I don't know. I. I mean, I just did what I felt like was right in here and anything that I chose to do, but I don't know. I don't. My faith in God is kind of the only thing that I knew. Any glimpse of it because. Yeah, I, I don't. I mean, you still have that cloud, that kind of, you know, anybody who has had cancer and battle, you know, you always kind of. It sits there, do you, to control, you know, but, you know, I don't know. I don't have. And, And I, I was, I would change things too. Like, I, I knew that raw, organic was the best thing that I could do. But in the. At the looking back at everything, it's. It's actually a big picture of everything, a little bit of everything. The good mindset, the. The good nutrition, the family, the friends, the support, the healing of past traumas. I mean, it's a little bit of everything. And yeah, I, I still don't have for sure, like I got this by any means, but day by day, hour.

By hour, sometimes we put you on four to one, Right. A gram a day that we started you right out at 4 to 1.

And you'll have to tell me because I. The syringes, three of those suppositories, and then the tincture of the cbd, CBG and cbn two times a day.

Yeah. So, Ian, just. Just to make you aware here, you know, this whole thing of paying it forward, etc. Charity actually came to me via Bob and Tammy Jansen. Yes.

Oh, yeah.

Listeners. Bob overcame his stage four pancreatic cancer. We've interviewed them a couple of times and that's how Charity and I got connected was through.

I'm one of those people who have like that I've been able to reach out and get support and give me direction. I've gotten a lot of direction from Tammy and. Yeah.

Oh, that's fantastic. Now, Charity, can you describe a day in your life during the most difficult moments when you were managing the bleeding and the lymphatic drainage?

Waking up. Sometimes we woke up in the middle of the night because I would be so drenched and my husband would get up and change me half asleep. We'd wake up, we'd do a bandage change. I would say two weeks before my mastectomy was the worst. My prayers shifted from God save me to God just take me because I can't do this anymore. We were changing bandages every two hours, two to three hours because of the lymphatic and the bleeding drainages. My husband was feeding like he made all my meals. He did all the laundry. We have a daughter that's still at home, that's a teenager. He was doing everything for her. And oddly enough, my husband was hardly ever home. He's an over the road truck driver, so he really didn't know how to do all these things, you know, because that's just the way our roles worked before all this. So it's. It was busy, but not a lot of anything, if that makes sense. And just constant care of me from. I. I feel like my husband was to the point where if he wasn't feeding, drinking, giving me food or drink or changing my bandit, like I couldn't have done this without. I really couldn't have.

Yeah. It was a tough emotional time for you.

It was very. Yes. Yeah. It was a lot of learning things. I mean, and that was another thing that's been a blessing. My husband and I lived separate lives almost because of his work life and just that's how it goes. But it's actually brought us closer. It's probably saved our marriage. We are we. Yeah, we. It's. It's terror as off. It's weird as it sounds, I guess is, you know, I would never take this away because it's given me a lot of blessings in the same aspects. I've learned a lot.

Yeah. It's interesting what you say. It's your marriage was. Was probably because of his. His role as a truck driver. He was away a lot. And so what this did. It kind of saved your marriage and saved your life.

In so many ways.

In so many ways. Yeah. And I mean, I just, I think it's still remarkable when you, when you sent that brief description to us that last December, December of 2023, they said you wouldn't live much longer in the beginning of the new year and here you are.

Here you are.

Yeah, I mean that's a really, really tough emotional hill to climb.

Yeah. And the thing of it is you hear people say that they have had those words said to you, but when you actually hear them, it's. It rings another tone I think because yeah, my husband actually was standing next to me when we were told it the first time and he literally about fell to the ground like his knees buckled. So yeah, it, yeah, don't wish it on anybody for sure.

Now. Was it was the emotional part of this the most difficult or the physical part?

I would say emotional. The hardest thing physical was actually the radiation. It. That was the most painful for me this whole time. Which, that sounds weird because I had like you said, an eight pound tumor growing on the side of my chest. But that was the worst part about it. But the emotional, the roller coaster, the highs, the lows, the one day being on cloud nine and the next just being to the floor, you know, not knowing whether you're going to be here tomorrow or not. Did you letting go for a mom letting go and, and you know, knowing that everybody. Things gonna be okay if you don't make it.

Did you ever, did you ever get to a point where you thought I'm not gonna be here or alt or on the other side. Get to a point where you thought, you know what, just maybe I can pull this off and save my life. And if so, when was that point?

The I think I can pull this off and save my life was part of the roller coaster, you know, especially in the beginning before the surgery where it seemed like the tumor kept growing. But I couldn't really see a lot of the things that what I was doing was, was working. Like when I had the mastectomy, I seen that there was the tumor was dying. I seen that it was in one. You know, it was just to my chest cavity and nowhere else. You know, up until that moment I just seen growth. So I was just trying to do everything that I could and changing sometimes daily on what I would allow myself to have and what I wouldn't allow myself to have. And yeah, so it was a day to day thing to. Yeah.

What was the reaction of friends that knew that you were and your family up to using cannabis?

For the most part I have had extraordinary support, which it was very shocking. But no, everybody has been very supportive and actually like, huh, okay, that kind of makes sense. So it's. I can't wait to share this, to be honest with you, because I have been very. Kept kind of quiet about it, except for my friends and my family. So now that I am healed and I could say, you know, I have the evidence to back my me up, you know, so I'm very excited to be able to. Because in Iowa it is illegal though. So.

Yeah.

Charity, what emotions did you experience when you received the clean scan A couple of weeks ago.

I was on cloud nine. My oncologist was a little confusing at how she delivered the message. She just literally walked open the door and like, I can't. Well, I can't find anything. I'm like, so like the cancer's all gone. Yep, it's all gone. Can't find anything. I'm like, okay, okay. Like, you know, and some of it, I guess maybe we, with our faith, we knew I couldn't see the tumor for a very long time prior to that. So I felt good, I guess, about getting that diagnosis or getting the clear scan. But at the same sense you still didn't 100% know, but visually, because I, for the most part, everything I knew visually right there, I felt good that it was all gone. But it was nice to get that confirmation.

And your husband happy as hell?

He is very happy as hell. We all are. Yes. My whole family is. I see my daughter, she's lighter now. I mean, it was heavy for everybody. It wasn't just me. And sometimes I think it's harder on the caregivers than it is the person. So.

Yeah, I often, I often say that actually to. To cancer patients, as horrible as what they're going through is, you know, when I'm speaking to a couple or whatever, that it's the partner that has the hardest time. I've walked both sides of the fence. Yeah, it's. It's tough all the way around. And cancer affects virtually every aspect of your life and every relationship of your life. It's so multi level self. Yes. And now that is all behind you.

And, And I'm still like, I feel like I'm still healing. I'm actually doing like a cancer reset through an alternative place to just make sure that all the inside of me looking good and, and so I can continue to grow and heal. And. And like I said, my whole. My husband is, oddly enough, he. He wasn't really on board with the health and nutrition until probably a month or so ago, and now he's the one that's sending me. Look what this video says. Charity in this video. So he is so on board. And I mean, my family and my friends are like, what I've done is, you know, speaking to my friends and family, so. Which that's partly why I think I'm here is I think I need to speak about this because you don't have. You can advocate for yourself. You're your biggest advocator. And ultimately, I think that's what makes you heal, is whatever you're doing resonates with you.

Charity. Just remember that women are much wiser than men.

Yeah.

They're slow sometimes. Maybe.

Now, has charity, has your perspective on life changed after going through a life threatening experience like this?

Yes. Oh, my gosh, yes. You. I mean, I still, you know, you feel the. Feel the things, but you, you don't much care on the other end of things, too. You know, you don't get upset about the things that you normally get upset with. You. You focus on things differently. You're. You're. The way you look at life is just different. And I'm still swimming through what that looks like yet. But, yeah, I. It opens your eyes to a lot. And once you open it to it and. Yeah. And yeah, you just got to focus on all the blessings.

Yeah. Well, it gives you an appreciation for life, which people normally don't have because they expect to be healthy throughout their lifetime.

And I was one of those people, like, I was one that thought, this isn't going to ever happen to me. And I, like I said, I knew some of the better choices I should have been making, but I still live the busy life and I, I'm one of those dumb people that it took me, you know, to get slapped. Hard to wake up.

Yeah. I mean, you get to appreciate the sunrise, the sunset, the moon, and love the sky. Yeah. And it's. It's marvelous. And those are the things that we all take for granted. And it's sad the way we just kind of march through life without an appreciation for things like that. Charity, what advice would you give to others who are facing a similar diagnosis as you? And especially those who may be looking for options beyond conventional treatment? What advice would you give them?

Well, for one, I come to me. I got lots of information. Do your own research. And there's a lot of people who have done it holistically. Once you start looking, there are tons of resources. And what I have found is those are the ones that are speaking louder than the conventional, and they have the proof to Back up. Back it up. It. I don't know, I just, I feel like. Do what's. Again. Feels good in here. Always. Listen, if it feels bad, don't do it. I mean, if it, if it's tugging at you that it doesn't seem right, there's a reason why it doesn't. But do your own research and find those people who can give you alternative answers and look at it as a whole. I mean. Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, just do research, research, research. I don't know. I don't know.

Yeah. Charity, it's a remarkable story. It's fantastic that you've had a clean scan and I'm sure you'll have clean scans in the future. And I want to thank you for doing this and sharing your story with others.

Thank you.

Thank you, Charity. It's phenomenal what you've accomplished.

Thank you for everything you've done with this as well.

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