If it's good for Olivia Newton-John...

“Olivia’s health is being maintained by a combination of conventional and herbal remedies” says Liz Hayes, 60 Minutes.

Liz goes on “But cannabis is what he (John Easterling, Olivia’s husband and Amazonian Herbalist) is hoping will keep Olivia alive, healthy and importantly pain free.”

I am truly delighted to see these important discussions on prime time.

Olivia has always been a supporter of Integrative Oncology.

My passion for working with Oncology patients grows & grows as I have the extreme pleasure of taking a place in the medical team of my patients through their cancer journeys.

It’s time we had these discussions, both on the importance of safety integrating conventional medicines & complementary evidence informed natural medicines, but also on all the options...

Not just because the evidence would endorse medicinal cannabis for many oncology related purposes such as pain management & more.... but because without these discussions 10’s of thousands, if not 100’s of thousands, of oncology and chronic disease patients in Australia are currently deciding to access this plant illegally.

Let’s take the illicit drug angle away & look at the evidence, the risks, the alternative pharmaceutical risks and quality of life & really think about the patients wishes. Let's think of Cannabis sativa the plant.

I have heard from patients in their 20’s to 80’s of their struggle to access reliable quality medicinal cannabis for themselves or their family members. This is just plain dangerous.

Let’s keep these conversations going for the benefit of patients safety & to achieve the best outcomes in each & every cancer journey.

Let’s open up the discussions on conventional oncology & the thousands of research papers that show the benefits on natural medicines, nutritional & lifestyle interventions in Oncology.

HOPE & Integrative Oncology go hand in hand in my practice. Whether it’s talking about lifestyle changes to promote side effect reduction, through to the researched benefits on life extension of medicinal mushrooms, the future looks bright from where I sit.

Please note I in no way promote or suggest the use of medicinal cannabis in my practice as it remains illegal to do so in Australia to date. This discussion is based on the published research, discussions with my patients who admit a desire to self prescribe for medicinal purposes & reporting by 60 Minutes with Olivia Newton-John & her family.