NEWS
‘Inhumane’ NHS
denies medical
cannabis, again
The girlfriend of a man with terminal brain cancer has
branded the NHS ‘inhumane,’ after doctors fail to act
on repeated pleas for a medical cannabis prescription.
Last year, 29-year-old George Gannon was
diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, following
several agonising headaches which were later
confirmed to be the result of multiple brain
tumours.
Having awoken one night, “covered in sweat and
unable to process his own thoughts,” George’s
girlfriend, Natalie rushed him to hospital where
CT scans revealed the tumours – one of which
required immediate surgery.
That was while the couple were based in Thailand.
Upon returning to his home in the UK, George’s
symptoms began to worsen and he was given
the devastating prognosis that his cancer was
terminal; he was placed on end-of-life care.
George, who now lives in Staffordshire, has been
taking conventional cancer drugs to manage his
symptoms, including steroids which he says give
him severe side effects.
To alleviate these effects, he’s been taking cannabis
oil which he bought online.
“The oil definitely helps with my symptoms, which
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is a tall order because I experience many side
effects from my prescriptions even on the best
of days,” George told the Daily Mail.
Both George and Natalie are frustrated that the
NHS won’t grant a prescription for medical
cannabis, despite it being the only thing that
helps him to manage the unpleasant effects of
conventional cancer treatment.
George and his family believe these drugs
– which include growth-blocking Debrafinib
and Tremetinib – are making his condition worse
and say that he needs cannabis oil to provide
him with the strength he’d need to undertake
immunotherapy.
Natalie said: “I think the NHS is being inhumane in
denying him access to the oil. We’re professional
people, not a pair of stoned hippies, and this
oil has made a huge difference to George.”
Medical cannabis is currently an unlicensed
medicine in the UK and NHS guidelines state that
only clinicians listed on the Specialist Register of the
General Medical Council are eligible to prescribe it.