I. The Key to Higher Health (Specific Purpose) II. To inform my audience on the health benefits of medical marijuana. (Central Idea) III. Marijuana has many beneficial medical uses despite its common stigma. (Introduction) IV. A woman goes to the doctor for an annual checkup since she has been feeling quite ill lately, but passed it off for the change of seasons. V. During her visit, the doctor performs a physical assessment noticing a lump in the back of her neck, and sends a sample to be tested.
VI. After following up with the test results the woman is informed she has a malignant tumor and will have to undergo chemotherapy treatment. A. Months into treatment, her physical appearance is withered away because she cannot eat nor keep down anything she attempts. B. Due to the vicious spells of nausea vomiting and diarrhea, the woman is now at risk of dying from malnutrition. VII.
Used throughout history for thousands of years as an herbal remedy, medicinal marijuana was offered to reverse her loss of appetite as well as a pain management therapy that restored a quality of life which was lost. VIII. Working at Abington Memorial Hospital has opened my eyes to a greater use for what people normally think of when they hear of the use of marijuana. IX. I wanted to research further of how marijuana can treat those who are ailing in life threatening sicknesses. X.
Today I would like to share the experiences I have had while working with patients that have benefited in their health by the treatment of medicinal marijuana, when medical marijuana is appropriate, and what conditions can be treated with positive effects. XI. Transition: (Let’s begin with my experiences I have encountered first hand with illness and the use of medical marijuana. ) (Body) XII. I have worked at Abington Memorial Hospital for over two years and have had clinical experience as I ventured into the nursing field for a while.
I witnessed many patients that were terminally ill with various types of stage four cancer that were not dying solely because of the cancer, but because of all the treatment, pain, and pain from the treatment had caused a poor quality of life, and lack of will to thrive, and a unsustainable need for nutrition that was insatiable because of their incapacity to eat. A. The side effects that ensue with chemotherapy and other treatments for terminally ill patients have often been the root cause of an earlier demise despite their diagnosis.
B. I have seen many patients in a hospital that are not even living anymore. I have looked in the face of death, and have seen a shattered soul, in a dying body aching each day until their last breath. C. When you see a person cascade over that final curtain is a phenomenon unlike what you have seen in the movies. You can see an agony at its peak right before they subside. XIII. Medical marijuana is a true marvel at what it can do for those before they end up like the previous mentioned. A.
The active ingredient in cannabis can improve the appetites and sense of taste in cancer patients, according to a new study published online in the cancer journal, Annals of Oncology today. B. Loss of appetite is common among cancer patients, either because the cancer itself or its treatment affects the sense of taste and smell, leading to decreased enjoyment of food. This, in turn, can lead to weight loss, anorexia, a worse quality of life and decreased survival; therefore, finding effective ways of helping patients to maintain a good diet and consume enough calories is an important aspect of their treatment.
C. Researchers in Canada ran a small pilot study from May 2006 to December 2008 in 21 adult patients with any advanced cancer (except brain cancer) who had been eating less as a result of their illness for two weeks or more. All were either being treated with chemotherapy or had been in the past. The patients were randomly assigned to receive medication from a pharmacist in a double-blind manner, which meant that neither the patients nor the doctors knew which treatment they were receiving.
Eleven patients received oral capsules containing delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis – and eight patients were assigned to the control group to receive placebo capsules. The active capsules contained 2. 5mg of THC and the patients took them once a day for the first three days, twice a day thereafter, and they had the option to increase their dose up to a maximum of 20mg a day if they wished; however, most followed the dosing protocol, with three patients in both groups increasing their dose to three times a day. The treatment ran for 18 days.
D. From patient answers to questionnaires conducted before, during and at the end of the trial, the researchers found that the majority (73%) of THC-treated patients reported an increased overall appreciation of food compared with patients receiving placebo (30%) and more often stated that study medication “made food taste better” (55%) compared with placebo (10%). (Conclusion) XIV. As you all have heard today the stories, both tragic and victorious, when faced with anguish and a poor quality of life for those who are on the brink of death there is an answer, a profound one at that.
XV. We must not let stereotypical judgments impede our way of thinking and the furthering of our mental evolution. XVI. Sickness and death are real, why settle for tragedy? No one wants to see a sad ending. Thank You.
(Bibliography) Brook, J. S. , Balka, E. B. , & Whiteman, M. (1999). The risks for late adolescence of early adolescent marijuana use. American Journal of Public Health, 89(10),1549-1554. Caspari, D. (1999). Cannabis and schizophrenia: Results of a follow-up study.
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 249(1), 45-49. Disabled World News (2011-02-23) – Loss of appetite is common among cancer patients because of the cancer itself or treatment affects sense of taste and smell: http://www. disabledworld. com/medical/pharmaceutical/marijuana/ingredient. php#ixzz29emaSkVo Human study examines medical marijuana. (2012).
Medical Ethics Advisor, Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/914698891? accountid=13158; http://sk8es4mc2l. search. serialssolutions. com/?ctx_ver=Z39. 88-2004&ctx_enc=info:ofi/enc:
UTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/ProQ%3Anursing&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft. genre=article&rft. jtitle=Medical+Ethics+Advisor&rft. atitle=Human+study+examines+medical+marijuana&rft. au=&rft. aulast=&rft. aufirst=&rft. date=2012-01-01&rft. volume=&rft. issue=&rft. spage=&rft. isbn=&rft. btitle=&rft. title=Medical+Ethics+Advisor&rft. issn=08860653 Trossman, S. (2006-04-01). Rx for medical marijuana?. The American journal of nursing, 106(4), 77-79. ——=_Part_157_636195383. 1349219371671.