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Cancer survivor claims cannabis oil helped her beat brain tumour

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When Sheriann Baker was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2017 doctors told her she could have just two years to live. Three years on she’s tumour free and she claims it’s all down to Rick Simpson oil; a high-THC cannabis oil.

“I’m not going to die of cancer,” says Sheriann Baker, speaking to Cannabis Health from her home in Toronto, Canada.

“I honestly believe I will lead a full life.”

She’s pretty confident, for a woman who three years ago had a tumour the size of a golf ball on her brain and was given – worst case scenario – two years to live.

Sheriann had suffered from migraines since the age of five and as an adult could experience up to 20 severe episodes a month, but she was always prescribed painkillers and the cause was never explored further.

It was June 2017 when Sheriann, then 46, was staying with a friend in British Columbia that she realised something was seriously wrong.

“That morning I had experienced this overwhelming smell of burnt tar,” she remembers.

“We went out to a parade and I started to feel really strange. My left foot was fine, but as I stepped down on my right foot, it was like stepping into a pool of water.

“By the time we got to the car I was completely paralysed. I couldn’t get my brain to tell the rest of my body to move.

“My girlfriend drove me to the hospital and got me admitted – and that’s the last thing I remember.”

Sheriann had suffered an eight minute grand mal seizure, which doctors initially thought was caused by a stroke. Three months later in August, following an appointment with her neurologist, an MRI scan showed the tumour.

“At 46-years-old I was told that I had five to 10 years to live at most,” says Sheriann.

“If I didn’t do chemotherapy and radiation, I would most likely die within two years.”

She continues: “That’s where my research started.

“I’ve always been very against chemotherapy and radiation, I know a lot of people who have died from cancer and told me how brutal it is, if I’ve only got a few years left, that’s not a way I want to live.”

A year earlier, Sheriann had lost a good friend, who had begun using Rick Simpson oil (RSO) – cannabis product known for containing higher levels of THC – after he was diagnosed with lung cancer.

Rick Simpson claims to have cured his metastatic skin cancer in 2003 by using the high grade hemp oil, which is said to include a particular type of cannabis called Cannabis indica, which produces a sedative effect that helps the body heal. The oil is not a branded product – there are various versions available and Simpson’s own website even explains how to make his namesake oil.

Sheriann’s friend sadly passed away from a splint rupturing his lung, but the autopsy is said to have revealed that he was cancer-free.

“That’s when I just knew, I was 150 percent convinced that I needed to try cannabis oil,” she says.

A few months later, Sheriann underwent a six-hour brain surgery. Doctors warned her they wouldn’t be able to remove the whole tumour and three percent was left behind.

She recovered quickly, leaving hospital after 26 hours and two months later was almost completely healed.

“I told my doctors I was using cannabis oil, it’s really important that patients tell their doctors because it can lower your blood pressure,” she says.

“Thankfully they were fantastic and couldn’t believe how great I looked afterwards. I woke up feeling so grateful to be alive and so positive because I had that confidence in the oil.”

A few months later a follow up MRI scan showed that the remaining three percent of the tumour had gone, she says.

“I still have brain cancer, but the cannabis is keeping the tumour from growing back.”

She adds: “It’s now three years later and I feel amazing, my blood work, cholesterol, everything is above average.”

Sheriann continues to take one to two tablets a day of RSO (of 70-75 percent THC and above) mixed with frankincense drops and coconut oil and also eats a completely ‘clean’ diet, cutting out red meat, dairy, carbs, fats and sugar and living mostly on homemade juices.

After she decided to share her journey on social media shortly after she was diagnosed, she is now a full-time influencer and spends her days engaging with and educating her 20,000 followers.

“I have talked to thousands of people around the world who have fought and won against cancer using cannabis oil – every day I get probably five to 10 people reaching out to me,” she says

“We’re saving our own lives and other people need to know about it.”

While she dedicates a lot of her time to raising awareness about the potential benefits of cannabis oil, she is careful not to force it on others

“I’ve lost friends to cancer who weren’t using the oil and it breaks my heart, but you can’t push it on people, you have to let them do their own research and make that decision,” she adds

“People are just afraid, they have been told all their life that it’s a bad drug, they don’t realise the medical benefits.”

RSO was not included in the legalisation of cannabis products in Canada in 2018, due to its high concentrate of THC.

Following a 1975 study which showed THC and other cannabinoids to have a reducing effect on the growth of cancer cells in mice, a number of other studies have been carried out to examine their effectiveness, including a few early-stage trials on humans.

However, much larger and longer term trials are needed to provide conclusive evidence.

“I show all my scans and medical reports online and have even gone to Health Canada, but haven’t had a response from them,” says Sheriann.

“I do get angry about it and I’m not scared to say things online, I’ll take that chance. If they want to throw me in jail with terminal brain cancer, all power to them.”

Several high profile cannabis growers and producers have reached out to Sheriann to donate oil and she was even invited to speak at a national neurologists conference in Toronto earlier this year (which was unfortunately cancelled due to covid).

She laughs: “I couldn’t even believe it when I got invited, I’m just a Canadian girl who started living this lifestyle and am winning because of it.”

Ironically, Sheriann says the three years since she was diagnosed with cancer have been the best of her life.

“When you get the diagnosis, your whole life changes, but I wouldn’t change it for anything,” she says.

“I’ve had people unfollow me because they are in a place where they can’t see the light, but people with cancer can still be happy and have a life.

“I really believe that seeing the positive in everything is a huge thing.”

Sheriann adds: I remember the first time I went into hospital, I was sitting with all these other cancer patients, and they’d all given up.

“I’m not giving up, that’s not me. You have to be as positive as you possibly can until the end.”

 

 

 

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