Tokin’ with the Infamous: Silas Tedesco Cancer Free

This plant is my life. I am a proud, self-proclaimed stoner. I am also an advocate for patients and families who depend on cannabis for survival. Right now, I’m up in Humboldt County on my yearly pilgrimage, hanging out with my favorite canna-family, the Tedesco’s. Silas Tedesco is five years old and was recently declared cancer free, thanks in large part to cannabis oil. I sat down with Silas’ parents Ash and Cheese in their home overlooking Humboldt Bay, and we talked about what a journey it has been, over a joint of Sunset Sherbet, as Silas ran and played.

Hopper: Let’s start off by telling everyone the good news.

Ash: Yes, Silas just finished his 3 ½ years of chemotherapy protocol about three weeks ago. He had the chemotherapy port removed the next day. He’s healed up from that surgery and is in a detox process now. So, we’re eating as many raw foods as possible, and just trying to move forward.

Hopper: Is he still taking the RSO?

Ash: He is still taking a RSO type of cannabis oil. We don’t use the isopropyl alcohol, so we just call it cannabis oil.

Hopper: How long did Silas battle cancer? What was his diagnosis?

Ash: He was diagnosed at 19 months old with high risk precursor B acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Hopper: Wow. That’s a mouth full. I can’t imagine how scary that must have been.

Ash: Yeah. The abbreviation is HRPreBALL. By the 28th day, he was in remission, but per the chemotherapy protocol he needed 3 ½ years to keep him in remission. By the eighth day of chemotherapy, they would have liked to see him at zero leukemia cells. He did not reach that. That’s why he was bumped to the high risk category. He was released from the hospital on day 24. We started cannabis on day 25. Day 28 is when they did the second test to see what his leukemia count was. At that time, he was at zero leukemia cells.

Hopper: Nice! I love to hear that. Wow, that’s really amazing.

Ash: Once we added the cannabis oil in conjunction with the chemotherapy, he reached remission.

Hopper: That is amazing!  You guys are from Vegas, right?

Ash: We were both born and raised…

Hopper How long have you been in Humboldt? When and why did you decide to move up here?

Ash: We came up here on vacation before we had children, and we loved the environment. When we had our daughter, Gia, we decided that we wanted her to grow up here, in an environment like this, versus how we grew up.

Hopper: Just talking about Vegas, can you believe how much it has grown, medical cannabis wise? There are so many options and dispensaries now.

Ash: It’s amazing! This map here…

Hopper: Yeah, in Vegas Cannabis Mag…

Ash: This was unheard of when we left.  We moved here (Humboldt County) in April of 2010.

Cheese: We literally pulled in on 4/20.  It just happened that way.

Hopper: How did cannabis help to heal Silas? What was his regimen?

Ash: The very first way it helped him was, it helped him to relearn how to walk. In the beginning, he didn’t walk for nearly eight weeks due to the pain that the leukemia caused in his legs, and also due to one of the main chemotherapy drugs he was given, and due to the weight gain from the extreme doses of steroids that he was given. Within a week of starting the cannabis oil, he started attempting to take steps. We have videos documented on his Facebook page of this. Within two weeks, he was taking unassisted steps again. And then he was running around, chasing, playing, and jumping.

Hopper: That’s so awesome! It’s always dope seeing you guys, I love it up here. Is there anything else you would like to say?

Ash: We’re just so grateful for the support. We’re grateful that you came to see us, and are helping get his story out there. We’re so grateful for all of the love we get. He is a warrior, he makes our world go round.

Follow Silas’ journey:  www.strengthforsilas.com, Facebook.com/StrengthForSilas, Instagram: @StrengthForSilas0914