Legendary newsman Tom Brokaw says he has a handy aid for helping him stay distracted from the cancer he's battled for six years: Marijuana.

Brokaw, in an interview at his winter home on the Gulf Coast of Florida, told SurvivorNet he is currently being treated for a blood cancer called multiple myeloma. He may have slowed down physically, but his journalistic ambition and desire to be part of the national dialogue has not. Brokaw is currently working on a book about Richard Nixon, and volunteers that “politics keep me distracted from cancer.”

Feeling Good & Taking Medical Marijuana

In a wide-ranging interview, Brokaw said he’s on medical marijuana to help with the pain in his back. He has had back issues for years and multiple myeloma attacks the bones, causing pain and loss of height. Though he says getting medical marijuana in the state of Florida is “complicated.”

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He is a living testament to the extraordinary advances in treatment which are increasingly turning some cancers such as multiple myeloma into chronic diseases. He’s on a drug called Revlimid which, in combination with other therapies, is used to kill myeloma cells. Brokaw is now in what’s called the “maintenance phase” of treatment in which lower doses of Revlimid (also known by its molecular name lenalidomide) are used to keep the immune system on high alert against the cancer.

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