Terminal Illness

Terminal illness is any condition or disease in the final phases that has had its treatment methods exhausted and is forecasted to lead to the patient’s imminent death. Classic examples of terminal illness would be metastatic cancer that has spread despite chemotherapy with a patient no longer seeking the continuation of such aggressive treatment. Another example could be a patient that has a persistent severe infection that has failed multiple treatments and surgeries who no longer wishes to continue with such harsh interventions. Or, it could be a patient with organ failure who no longer wishes or can no longer receive organ transplantation. There are many other conditions that could qualify but these need to be discussed with our physician on a case-by-case basis.

Medical marijuana in these patients is recommended for palliative purposes at it can help out with symptoms such as pain, nausea, poor appetite, depressed mood and insomnia. Many times these patients need a caregiver to pick up their medications for them from the dispensary and sometimes help them administer the treatment.