Walters v. Conant: Judith Cushner - Plaintiff, Breast and Uterine Cancer Patient

Plaintiff Judith Cushner is a resident of San Francisco, California, where she has been the director of a preschool for 15 years. She is an active member of her synagogue and a mother of two children. Cushner is a breast cancer survivor who has been in remission for almost eight years. Cushner was diagnosed with an aggressive cell growth in 1989 and underwent a lumpectomy and lymph node removal. She then received eight months of chemotherapy and eight weeks of radiation therapy followed by several years of hormone therapy. Cushner is at risk of the recurrence of the initial breast cancer and has also been diagnosed with a separate uterine cancer for which she received a complete hysterectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation treatment. She is currently undergoing her third round of chemotherapy in response to a reappearance of uterine cancer. Cushner is therefore gravely concerned about her ability to receive full and adequate medical advice about her condition now and in the future.

Unable to obtain relief from her severely debilitating nausea from a number of other prescription drugs, Cushner considered abandoning chemotherapy. However, a nurse gave her marijuana, and Cushner's nausea diminished almost immediately with no side effects. Cushner inhaled a few puffs of marijuana several times per week for the remainder of her chemotherapy, and then stopped using marijuana until her recent relapse and third round of chemotherapy. She currently ingests marijuana in the form of a tincture mixed in with tea. Cushner informed her oncologist, radiation oncologist, and surgeon that she was using medical marijuana, and they all supported her marijuana use. The trust she established with her oncologist was critical in Cushner's ability to complete chemotherapy. Cushner believes that the federal government's threats to doctors could be a death sentence for the patients who depend on them for honest and complete medical advice.