Former Playboy bunny Kerri Parker has refused chemotherapy and is fighting brain cancer with illegal cannabis oil.
The beauty queen risks a potential five-year jail term or unlimited fine for using THC, the component in cannabis which makes users feel high.
She chose the drug rather than face 12 gruelling rounds of chemo which were scheduled to start tomorrow.
Her battle comes over four years after surgeons removed a tumour which bizarrely altered her personality.
Instead of mixing with the likes of Hugh Hefner and Leonardo DiCaprio she found herself staying in, curled up on the sofa.
Devastated Kerri, 34, was told by doctors this month her cancer was back and that her best hope was chemo and radiotherapy.
But Kerri – a former lab technician from Norwich – said: “My chemo team wanted me to have 10-12 cycles but went on to tell me that no one with brain cancer has managed to have the full lot.
“I know using cannabis means I could be put in prison but I truly believe it is the only chance I have of living right now.
“I’ve been working hard over the past few years. I’m training for a black belt in martial arts and I’m the fittest and healthiest I’ve been, so when doctors say they want me to have treatment which will make me sick, it makes no sense to me.
“I don’t want my hair to fall out from chemo, or my face burned from radiotherapy. I train daily, run a model academy and a nutrition business and I don’t want having cancer to affect all of this.
“Cannabis has helped many others with cancer. I’m willing to put faith in it too. I can’t imagine any judge would convict a girl for using cannabis to save her life. It’s a risk I’m ready to take.”
THC use is unlawful in the UK but Kerri is getting it imported from Spain – where it is legal.
She expected a barrage of criticism from pals but added: “Not a single person said I’d made the wrong decision. My family are in support. Mum told me from day one she doesn’t want me having chemo. She fully believes we can beat this cancer ourselves.”
Kerri had already taken CBD oil for six months in the hope of preventing cancer returning. She has taken oil with a high percentage of THC for a fortnight and is seeing some side-effects.
She went on: “I was taking CBD oil as a preventer and it may well have slowed down the cancer, who knows.
Now I’m taking THC oil I feel ill. It’s lowering my already super-low blood pressure and I have brain fog, dizziness, reduced sympathetic nervous system, weakness and an increased heart rate – normal symptoms, I’m told.
“I’m praying my body adapts as I have to up my daily dosage nearly 10 times if I’m going to get rid of cancer.
“I’d take feeling like this over chemo and radiotherapy any day. It’s my only hope of surviving.”
Before cancer, Kerri led a glamorous lifestyle mingling with the stars. She posed for Playboy, became a Playboy bunny and lived the high life at Hugh Hefner’s LA mansion.
She was also a movie body double for Megan Fox and won a raft of beauty titles – including versions of Miss UK. But cancer has played havoc with her life.
The People told in 2014 how, after surgery, Kerri no longer enjoyed parties. She became an introvert, preferring nights in.
Doctors said she suffered bizarre mental side-effects which can affect brain surgery patients.
Scans later came up clear and her confident personality returned.
Kerri took up modelling again and did martial arts, rallying and stunt work. She raises funds for Brain Tumour Research – and has run the London Marathon. But a charity trek to Everest base camp is on hold.
Kerri is also taking advice from Callie Blackwell, who gave her 12-year-old son illegal cannabis after he was given days to live.
He recovered and is now 18 and in remission from cancer.
Justin Stebbing, Professor of Cancer Medicine and Oncology at Imperial College London, said: “Patients refuse chemo for all sorts of reasons – a decision I’d respect – but to say cannabis oils could help prolong survival of brain cancer would be a push. Cannabis does have painkilling effects but it doesn’t actually have any anti-cancer properties.”
Cancer Research UK declined to comment on Kerri’s case. But their website says: “There isn’t enough reliable evidence to prove cannabis can effectively treat cancer.”
What is cannabis oil?
Some forms of cannabis oil are now available to buy in shops in the UK.
The cannabinoid CBD is not considered a controlled substance, and is therefore 100 per cent legal.
This is what cannabis oils sold in the UK are made from.
THC is the intoxicating and psychoactive substance that is responsible for causing the marijuana high.
It is considered a controlled substance, and is therefore illegal.
Cannabis oil can reportedly be beneficial for people who suffer from stress, anxiety, depression or lack of sleep. It has also been suggested that it can be used to help alleviate the pain of cancer patients.
However, cancer charity Macmillan.org.uk said: "There are side effects of using cannabis oil. Cannabinoids can increase your heart rate, cause dizziness, hallucinations, paranoia and make you feel ‘stoned’.
"They may also interact with other drugs."
It has also been claimed cannabis oil can treat symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease and MS.
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