David Bowie’s Son
Although David Bowie’s son Duncan Jones is a well-known film director and has never had cancer, his life has been upended by the disease over the past couple of years. Earlier this week he publicly mourned the loss of his father, who died on January 10 after an 18-month battle with liver cancer, in a tweet that said: “Very sorry and sad to say it’s true. I’ll be offline for a while. Love to all.”
David Bowie’s passing has rocked the whole pop social world and was likely an exceptionally painful experience for Jones since it happened only two years after his wife, photographer Rodene Ronquillo, managed to overcome breast cancer.
Ronquillo was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer on November 7, 2012, the same day she and Jones were married.
After her diagnosis, she immediately had a mastectomy before diving right into aggressive chemotherapy. Eventually, she was given a clean bill of health.
According to Ronquillo, the key to beating cancer was cannabis edibles.
Throughout her struggle with cancer, both she and Jones were vocal about the role marijuana played in her treatment.
Using her Twitter account, Ronquillo made clear that she’d rather use cannabis than add any more “unnatural drugs” to her already grueling regimen of chemotherapy treatments.
She also offered some encouragement to other women struggling with breast cancer when she tweeted: “We r very fortunate to have our hubbies! :) Be sure to keep hydrated, eat clean, and don’t count out cannabis edibles. xo ;)”
Jones was just as vocal about things from his perspective. At various times he tweeted:
“So, one of the unique aspects of living in California is the legality of use medicinal marijuana.”
“Its been both wonderful & at times hilarious to see finding a world of relief from cancer through these drugs…”
“Those who have an issue with marijuana for medicinal use, all I can say is you have no idea what a boon it is for cancer pain management.”
The entire experience has made both Jones and Ronquillo huge supporters of medicinal cannabis.
Importantly, their experiences match up quite well with the growing body of research showing that cannabis can be an effective, safe, and all-natural treatment for certain types of cancer.
In the wake of David Bowie’s death, all of this is likely bittersweet for Jones, as many people echo Drew Jameson’s question: “Could cannabis have saved Bowie?”
