Amazing... but this could be a one- off

IT IS baffling to hear about Deryn’s story. Any parent in Callie’s situation would have felt the desperation she felt and compulsion to help her son who was suffering so badly.

Families do turn to alternative therapies, internet-based solutions and even outlandish claims that could help their child become pain-free and survive. At the end of life particularly, it is understandable to feel that conventional medicine may have failed and look elsewhere.

This truly sounds like a miracle story: remission of cancer spontaneously is not a common occurrence. But I would be cautious for anyone to conclude that cannabis cured Deryn’s cancer or his infection.

This is a true anecdote, and, admittedly, an astounding one, that happened involving one patient and therefore does not prove anything scientifically. Until the results are repeated in numerous patients, it could simply be the case that the use of cannabis coincided with the natural progression of his disease. I would warn others against trying anything similar.