Though stigma still surrounds the cultivation and use of cannabis, more and more people are realizing that the crop isn’t only beneficial for the environment, it may seriously help individuals who suffer from afflictions such as cancer.
In the past, True Activist has shared powerful stories of individuals healing themselves from debilitating conditions with cannabis oil. Now, a story has surfaced of a Hollywood stuntman curing his stage 4 cancer with the aid of the plant. He’s now on a mission to reduce the stigma associated with using hemp, and hopes that in the future, medical marijuana is legally available to everyone.
High Times reports that American stuntman Mark Chavarria was the type of individual who never slowed down. He’s been working in the Hollywood industry for twenty years, and has been featured as a stunt double in movies such as Inception and Iron Man.
Even when he noticed health issues that should have been a red flag for him to visit his doctor, he kept his attention on his career. He started feeling overly tired in the evenings and even began noticing some blood in his stool. It wasn’t until one of his “stunt buddies,” who had been experiencing similar symptoms, was diagnosed with colon cancer that Mark and his wife, Alyssa, decided to take the signs seriously.
It took a long time for Chavarria to ever visit his doctor, but when he did, it was confirmed that he was suffering from stage 4 colon cancer. At this point, he had already given up coffee and red meat, but knew more serious changes were required.
He said:
“That was the start of it all. Literally, when I woke up from the procedure, my wife was in there crying. She’s like, ‘you’ve got cancer,’ and I was like ‘no, I don’t.’”
Denial was the first challenge he had to overcome. Eventually, he told his wife: “I will beat this. You watch me.” The battle wouldn’t be an easy one, however. Nearly 70% of his colon was taken over by tumors, as was his liver.
He began consulting with several doctors, all of whom offered a number of different opinions on his best chances for beating the beast known as cancer. One doctor told him the only solution was to surgically reroute his plumbing, which involved removing a portion of his colon and then fitting him for a colostomy bag that he would have to wear for the rest of his life. Mortified by the idea, Mark sought a less-drastic way out and found another opinion.
The next doctor suggested that while it may be possible for him to skip the colon-clipping surgery – at least for the time being – it was necessary for him to begin radiation and chemotherapy.
“I asked those guys if there was anyway I could avoid surgery, and [if] the chemo and radiation would get rid of the tumors 100 percent,” Chavarria explained. “They said, ‘nope, won’t happen.’”
With no other option, Mark began treatments immediately. The dreaded effects of the chemotherapy and radiation were almost intolerable. Reportedly, he had to start taking Oxycontin and Hydrocodone just to go to the restroom, as the radiation burned when he urinated.
“I’ve been doing stunts for over 20 years, so I know what pain is. I’ve been lit on fire, I’ve flipped cars, I’ve gone out windows, I’ve fought a lot of people, but this was the extreme of extreme pain,” he said.
It was when an old friend from high school suggested to Alyssa that Mark try medical marijuana that his situation changed. His wife was eager for Mark to try it, but he was apprehensive because of the stigma associated with cannabis.
“I was raised that way,” he said. “Drugs are bad.”
After he learned that it is possible to supplement with high-quality hemp oil and not get high (if it does not contain THC), he decided to give it a try. Mark noticed remarkable changes almost instantly.
“Once I got on this oil, I was able to get rid of everything – all the Hydrocodine, the Oxycontin, everything,” he said.
His demeanor also changed. When he was on the pharmaceutical drugs, he was an “angry, mean person” and his wife didn’t like it. On cannabis, he was calm, cool, and collected.
When Mark informed his doctors of his experiment, they said they weren’t for it but weren’t against it either. They still pushed the prescriptions for both Oxycontin and Hydrocodone, but Mark later learned that it is because his primary oncologist owned the pharmacy.
Because cannabis oil was working, he continued with the treatment of oil and an occasional toke. The herb helped relieve excruciating pain associated with his cancer treatment. For example, five minutes after smoking cannabis, he would feel good enough to go out to dinner with his wife.
“It was just that much of a difference,” he said. “It was insane.”
When Mark began on chemo, he lost a staggering amount of weight – around 40 pounds in less than a year. When he started the natural treatment, a renewed appetite helped him regain some pounds and keep a decent weight.
Finally, something remarkable happened. In June 2014, Mark woke up with the strange feeling that his cancer was gone. So, he scheduled a session with his physician. Amazingly, a colonoscopy and a CAT scan revealed that only scar tissue from the radiation remained. Even his liver was 95% free of tumors. He was cancer-free!
He shares that while using cannabis oil, he intuitively felt that the herb was killing the cancer.
“It’s kind of gross, but I literally felt like I was pooping the thing out every time I went to the restroom,” he explained. “What I believe happens with the oil is it makes like a shellac on the tumors, and it doesn’t let it grow; doesn’t let it breathe; doesn’t let it eat… nothing. I think it was slowly, but surely, peeling away at the tumors like an onion.”
While physicians chalked his recovery up to chemo and radiation, Mark is calling ‘bullshit’. Three of his friends, all roughly around the same age, were also diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancer around the same time. Despite pleading from Mark and Alyssa for them to try cannabis oil, they chose chemotherapy and radiation and all eventually perished. Mark is alive, he says, because of medical marijuana.
Mark says:
“People wait too late. As soon as we found out that I had cancer, we were on the oil within a month. We jumped on it right way, and I think that is key, and that is what a lot of people don’t get.”
Mark now takes weekly “maintenance” oil to prevent the cancer from coming back. So far there has been no sign of the disease returning.
Because the ordeal with cancer changed his perception about the herb substantially, he is raising money to produce a documentary about the healing powers of cannabis oil. His ultimate goal is to break the stigma associated with medical marijuana so that all individuals have easy, affordable access to the medicine. You can learn more about his plight here.
He says:
“I’m going up against Big Pharma. I’m going to name names.”
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