About Me

Why Are You Doing This? 

Two bone-marrow biopsies in one day is no joke. The first needle was 8 inches long, because the needle came out empty or no sample to look at, I was told by Dr. Chen that I needed to do another biopsy. The 2nd needle was 12 inches long and that got the job done. One of the most challenging moments of my life was September 8, 2009; when I heard the doctor at Group Health tell me that I had cancer, Hairy Cell Leukemia to be exact. I couldn’t really see her because the retinas in both of my eyes had developed blood clots due to the fevers I was experiencing. All I heard her say was, “Mr. Calderon, you have cancer.” That same evening (at mid-night) they started me on two bags of blood transfusion followed up by two bags of chemo. My body was going through a lot. They would continue to do blood transfusions followed up with chemo for the next 6 nights. What I didn’t understand was that I was previously misdiagnosed 3 other times and was prescribed Vicodin, Percocet, Oxycodone, Codeine and other drugs; and my internal organs (liver, kidneys, pancreas etc.) were getting damaged.  During this time, I was the Associate Pastor of an evangelical church and the Senior Pastor of our Spanish church, Santuario de Alabanza. 

On January 12, 2010 my phlebotomist, Shaina, introduced me to the topic of Medical Marijuana and how I could benefit from its medicinal use. She encouraged me to research the medical use of cannabis for myself and to at least think about it, so, I did. I researched Medical Marijuana for about 3 months. How can a pastor be doing research on the medical use of marijuana and why hadn’t God performed a healing miracle in my body? Two very good questions. Well, thanks to Shaina, I read about Rick Simpson and what he did to help himself and I started to educated myself on the topic. I applied my faith into what I was learning and soon I began seeing a Naturopath Doctor. With my Naturopath’s guidance I began to use Medical Cannabis.  

On July 2, 2015 I was diagnosed again with leukemia and was started on chemo immediately. I was given chemo again, only this time it was much stronger and I had to it for 7 days straight, 24 hours of the day. I continued to use what is known as RSO (Rick Simpson Oil) during my treatment and it didn’t give me the nausea and vomiting that normally comes with chemo therapy. I was able to recover my strength much faster than the first time I did chemo. Shortly after I turned to Full Extract Cannabis Oil (FECO) with the guidance of my naturopath and she shared how it was extracted from the Cannabis plant which made better sense to me.  

My last episode with leukemia occurred in November 4, 2018. Doctor Chen called me up after getting my medical results back and stated that I needed to get on chemo at my earliest convenience. It was then that I looked at my wife and told Dr. Chen that I would no longer be doing chemo therapy and I would continue to see my Naturopath Doctor for advice. I’ve learned more about amazing studies done on people with health issues and how cannabis has been their primary source. I’ve continued to depend on God as my source of faith and Medical Cannabis has been my choice of medicine. I’m on a mission to inform and educate those who are going through a personal battle with their health and who are open-minded to an alternative choice of medicine. Let's go on a journey together. 

CannaPastor