A father who had only weeks to live after a fatal brain tumor diagnosis survived for another two years after being given illegal drugs, his wife claims.
Neil Lanciano, 46, from Gloucester, went from wheelchair-bound to walking again and was described by doctors as a ‘miracle case’.
His wife Hayley says regular use of cannabis oil has given him precious extra time with his family. However, Mr. Lanciano has since passed away.
The paint shop manager was diagnosed with life-limiting glioblastoma (GBM), a form of brain cancer, in April 2020.
While doctors managed to remove 94 percent of his tumor, Mr Lanciano was left partially paralyzed and had speech problems.
Neil Lanciano with wife Hayley and daughters Abbie and Emily on holiday together
Mr and Mrs Lanciano on their wedding day. Ms Lanciano said she had to turn to using illegal THC cannabis oil to help her husband after the devastating news that he had only weeks to live due to a brain tumor
She credits using the illegal drug to Mr. Lanciano, pictured here with his daughters, who live two years longer than the NHS medics predicted
Six weeks after surgery, the family received the devastating news that the tumor had returned to its full size. Scans also revealed it was still growing.
Further tests showed that a number of smaller tumors had developed elsewhere in Mr. Lanciano’s brain.
Despite undergoing grueling radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the cancer continued to grow.
Finally, Mr. Lanciano’s doctors stopped his treatment and told the father of two that he had only weeks to live.
Ms Lanciano, 38, said she “felt compelled” to do something to improve his chances.
“We felt drained, nothing worked. I felt compelled to take Neil’s diagnosis into my own hands,” she said.
“I was desperate to give Neil some kind of quality life, for his sake and so that he could be here a little longer and watch our teenage daughters, Abbie and Emily, grow up.”
Ms Lanciano said she felt she had ‘no choice’ but to turn to cannabis oil, which is illegal in the UK due to its THC content.
People caught with the drug could face up to five years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both.
The playgroup manager paid £16,000 to buy the drugs online over a two-year period.
Mr. Lanciano used two vials of the drug every month.
In fact, a scan in July 2022 showed that the small disseminated tumors on his brain had disappeared completely, although the larger growths remained.
Mrs. Lanciano is convinced that her husband’s long survival was due to the use of cannabis oil.
She said: ‘His healthcare team said Neil was a ‘miracle case’ that they couldn’t explain.
“Neil had no other treatment and the only explanation I can think of is that the combination of cannabis oil and regular exercise played a major and positive role in Neil’s journey.”
She also claimed the drug helped her husband regain a “quality of life.”
“This was all new to us. Neil had never smoked or used drugs,” she said.
“The oil put Neil at ease, and with regular exercise he went from relying on a wheelchair to being able to walk on his own. He seemed to be getting stronger and enjoying life again.’
Mr Lanciano died on November 29 last year – more than two and a half years after he was diagnosed.
Since his diagnosis, the Lanciano family has raised more than £5,000 for the Brain Tumor Research charity.
Only 12 percent of people with a brain tumor survive longer than five years — compared to an average of 54 percent for all cancers.
But historically, only 1 percent of national spending on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumors.
Last month, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Brain Tumors published a research report calling for far-reaching changes in the way brain tumor research is funded, and labeled the current funding system as “unfit for purpose.”
Dr. Karen Noble, director of research, policy and innovation at Brain Tumor Research, said: ‘We are sorry to hear about Neil’s diagnosis and we are grateful to the family for sharing their experience.
“There is limited evidence on the effect of cannabis-based products on brain tumours, but the fact that Hayley and Neil felt they should seek such treatment shows that there is an urgent need for more research.
Ms Lanciano said: ‘I was desperate to give Neil some sort of quality of life, for his sake and so that he could be here a little longer to watch our teenage daughters, Abbie and Emily, grow up’
She credits using the oil to help her husband go from being wheelchair bound after brain surgery to walking
“While there are some studies that support what Neil experienced, that GBM cell growth can be slowed down, we need more research to find out if taking this drug can help GBM patients live longer.”
Glioblastoma is the most common form of brain tumor in the UK, with over 2,000 cases diagnosed each year.
But it has a notoriously poor prognosis, with patients usually living only 12 to 18 months after a diagnosis.
This is partly due to the speed at which the cancer spreads, but also to a lack of treatments that can successfully fight it.
Last year, The Wanted lead singer Tom Parker passed away at the age of 33 after an 18-month battle with stage four glioblastoma.
And in 2018, former Labor MP Tessa Jowell died after battling the disease, while former US Senator John McCain succumbed to cancer in 2017.
It can kill by completely shutting down the brain or pressing against the brainstem, the part of the body that controls breathing and heartbeat.
While some cannabis-based medicines are available on the NHS, they do not contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the chemical that causes the drug’s psychoactive effect or ‘high’.
Medications containing another cannabis compound called CBD, which does not cause a high, are allowed on the NHS for a small list of conditions, including severe epilepsy, vomiting caused by chemotherapy and multiple sclerosis.
The health department warns that most cannabis-based products that can be purchased online may contain THC and are therefore illegal.
And health stores that sell CBD products contain only very small amounts of the chemical, so it’s unclear what effect this has on various health conditions.
The risks of using cannabis products containing THC include drug-related psychosis and the formation of a dependence.
Side effects of taking it can include decreased appetite, diarrhea, and nausea.