Medical Marijuana is helping patients with qualifying conditions to ease their pain. When I got diagnosed with early stage 1 breast cancer medical marijuana helped me to ease my anxiety about the diagnosis and the route which was ahead of me. I developed depression as I was faced with the unknown.

It helped me to sleep and to get rest when I started radiation. Even the radiation went pretty smoothly as I did not suffer from anxiety and depression any longer and just wanted the phase to be over and start my new journey as a cancer survivor.

That was very tough. For 25 years I went every March for my yearly mammogram and ultrasound as I have dense breasts. I am very diligent about the yearly check-up. This year however the doctor detected a small lump in my left breast during the mammogram. She said: you have a cancerous lump, and we need to do a biopsy. I was in shock! Basically, I walked into the facility as a healthy woman and walked out as a cancer patient.  I work out on a regular base and eat very healthily. It was a shock, to say the least when the biopsy confirmed that indeed I had breast cancer. I was very lucky as the tumor was only 1cm and ER positive, HER2 negative. So it is curable and I am happy to say after my lumpectomy I am cancer free. However, I decided to have 16 days of local radiation.

Medical Marijuana truly helped me relieve the depression and anxiety I was feeling during my battle with cancer.

Even before my diagnoses I have always lived a fairly healthy lifestyle. That is why it was such a shock to me when I received the news that I had cancer. Now I am even more diligent about keeping up with my workout routine and eating healthy. I try my best to stay positive and thank God every day for my speedy recovery.

It was surreal. I see cancer patients in our clinic on a regular base. Now being “one of them” is a feeling I can not describe. I am humbled by my personal experience and what it has taught me. Now I am even more sympathetic of our patients as I can relate to what some of them are going through. My battle with cancer has shown me that life can change in a “New York Minute”.