High Hopes For Healing: Cannabis, Cancer and Education With Jay Jay O'Brien

Send us Fan MailA terminal prognosis changes what you’re willing to question and what you’re willing to try. I’m Margaret, and I sit down with Jay Jay O’Brien, certified medical cannabis educator, executive director of EducANation, and author of High Hopes for Healing, to talk about what happens when cannabis stops being a vague idea and becomes part of a cancer support plan.We get honest about the hardest part for many patients and caregivers: the silence. Jay Jay shares what it’s like to bring cannabis into oncology appointments and feel ignored, why the endocannabinoid system still isn’t common knowledge in medicine, and how stigma keeps people from learning about options that could improve quality of life. We also talk about cannabis as adjunct therapy during chemotherapy, radiation, or immunotherapy, including how cannabinoids may help reduce side effects and support the body through treatment.Then we go practical. Jay Jay breaks down dosing realities, why “start low and go slow” still matters even when aiming for higher therapeutic levels, and why maintenance dosing can be important after remission. We dig into raw cannabis and acidic cannabinoids like THCA and CBDA, with approachable ideas like tea and juicing leaves, plus why suppositories can deliver cannabinoids with less euphoria and higher bioavailability for people who don’t want to feel high. If you’re searching for medical cannabis, cannabis and cancer, RSO, or caregiver guidance, this conversation gives you language, context, and next steps.Subscribe for more grounded edible and cannabis education, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more patients and caregivers can find the show.Get your free starter edition of the Dose Diary, a fillable pdf and stop guessing and start knowing. Start Tracking. Ask a question for the upcoming Listener Q&A HERE or send an email to [email protected] the show Visit the website for full show notes, free dosing calculator, quiz, recipes and more.