Does Marijuana Help With Breast Cancer? By Barbara Brody April Curtis has been living with stage IV breast cancer for 6 years. The cancer itself, as well as some of the treatments for it, have caused a variety of debilitating side effects, especially nausea and severe pain. For a while, her doctors tried to ease these issues with higher and higher doses of medication, including strong opiates, but she was still miserable. About 3 years ago, she decided to give marijuana a try. “For nausea, it’s wonderful,” says Curtis, 39. “For pain, I can’t rely on it 100%, but it allows me to use a lower dose of opiates.”