Tereza's Struggle: 15 Years of Pain, Courage, and the Relief Brought by Medicinal Cannabis

There are stories that bear marks on the body that time does not erase, and yet find in the delicacy of bonds the strength to continue. The journey of Tereza Emir Moraes e Silva, 60 years old, is one of those narratives that surprise with resilience, the love that moves her, and the care that surrounds her.

For 15 years, she has been living with intense pain caused by a pituitary adenoma, a tumor in the brain region that changed the course of her life and her family's.

Prior to that, Tereza was a constant presence: active, hardworking, attentive to her three children, participating in every stage, every gesture, every challenge of motherhood. She was the full house, the ready lunch, the embracing hug. But when the tumor began to manifest, nothing was the same. The changed body, the paused life, and the enduring love.

The first signs came discreetly. Pains, numbness on the left side of the body, vision problems. In 2011, when her grandson Murilo was born, the family already understood that something serious was happening. There were visits to ophthalmologists, neurologists, exams, until the definitive diagnosis: a tumor in the pituitary gland that was already affecting important parts of the body and causing edemas in different regions.

Then came the surgeries, one through the roof of the mouth, another opening part of the skull. The second, more invasive intervention, left Tereza disoriented for days. And it was at that moment that she decided: she would not try more operations. From then on, she would continue with clinical treatments, endocrinological supervision, and a routine of continuous care.

For years, the brain tumor was kept stable with medications administered monthly by the SUS - Unified Health System. However, about three years ago, new signs raised the alarm: changes in the abdomen, different pains, silent changes.

Her daughter, Alessandra Mongelli, a biologist, teacher, mother of Murilo and Açucena, and primary caregiver, noticed every detail.

What seemed like a new gynecological process ended up revealing a more complex disease. Successive exams showed cancer in the pancreas, already spread to the ovary, and finally settled in the peritoneum - one of the most painful and difficult-to-treat regions.

The first chemotherapy had no effect. Worse: it caused bleeding when evacuating and wounds on the body. The oncologist suspended the cycle and referred the patient to palliative care, although he decided to try a second treatment. Between comings and goings to hospitals, Tereza fights against pain, fatigue, lack of appetite, and great difficulty in moving.

Today, her routine is confined to the room. "She no longer goes to the living room. We bring everything to her. Water, food... She is not eating properly. She has urinary leaks, bleeds when evacuating. And the pains... the pains are desperate," says Alessandra.

The Role of Medicinal Cannabis: Possible Relief Amid the Impossible

Over the past few decades, Tereza has taken various pain and sleep medications, but none of them had the necessary effect. It was about three years ago that medicinal cannabis definitively entered the routine, first with medical guidance, then with her own adjustments in the face of urgency.

Since then, the oil made from the whole plant, with more concentrated formulations, has become what Alessandra describes as "the only thing that really works".

If she goes a day without it, she doesn't sleep. She starts groaning in pain. We hear from outside the room. It's very hard to see and hear that, knowing it's a pain that doesn't go away," says the daughter.

The oil relieves, even if temporarily, the chronic pains that the mother has been carrying for 15 years, first because of the pituitary tumor, now due to the complications of the peritoneal cancer. Cannabis ointments also helped dry the wounds that appeared after the first chemotherapy.

Even with limitations, Alessandra tries to reorganize the routine so that Tereza has access to a more targeted treatment, with adjusted doses and permanent monitoring. "We are in the process of acquiring oil from the Flor do Cerrado Association so that she can have more comfort, sleep, and reduce the pain," summarizes the daughter.

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An Entire Family in Search of Healing

Even unable to move as before, Tereza still gets emotional when she sees her five grandchildren growing up. She participates as best she can, with her gaze, with the remaining affection even when the body is lacking. "She is very dear, very welcoming. She cries with emotion at any of their achievements," says Alessandra.

In the heart of the family, there is a silent and constant alternation between Alessandra and her brother, Augusto Junior, who share the daily care. There are baths, changes, medications, compresses, consultations, waits, difficult early mornings. There is fear. There is exhaustion. But above all, there is love.

Caring for her is difficult because of the rush... but the hardest part is seeing her in extreme pain. We try everything. The SUS helps a lot, but the struggle is great. And if it weren't for cannabis, I don't know how it would be," details Alessandra.

The lucidity of this statement does not come from exaggerated hope, it comes from the constant observation of someone who is by her side every day, seeing what works and what doesn't.

Between harsh diagnoses, interrupted treatments, and new cycles of chemotherapy that may or may not take effect, Tereza continues, surrounded by care and affection, finding, in medicinal cannabis, the possible breath in a journey marked by 15 years of resilience.

In the silence of the room, where the routine now focuses, there is much pain, but there is also the constant presence of the daughter who affectionately calls her mother, and who transformed her own life to support hers.

And among medications, compresses, and sleepless nights, there is a request that crosses all layers of the story: "I just want my mother to be able to live without feeling so much pain because, in the rest, we are doing everything with a lot of struggle and, most importantly, love."