Fran Drescher

Cannalaw Connections

CannaLaw Connections gets its first celebrity guest interview, with film and TV star, philanthropist, and overall incredible human being, Fran Drescher (The Nanny, Hotel Transylvania, Jack, Saturday Night Fever, & many, many more)!

Chris & Fran get deep into it; from her upbringing in New York, her bout with cancer, her founding of Cancer Schmancer, her dedication to healthy, organic & sustainable living, and her vision for the future of the commercial cannabis industry.

Complete Transcription

Chris Hoo: Hello, and welcome to another episode of Cannalaw Connections. My name is Chris Hoo and as always, I'm here with people, leaders, experts, influencers in the cannabis space. I'm very happy to start our third season of Cannalaw Connections with a very, very special guest; somebody who I have definitely been following her career since I was a child and had recently really connected on a personal level. And I'm very, very excited to get to know her and her community much, much better, and support her. I'd like to introduce everyone to Fran Drescher. Hi Fran.

Fran Drescher: Hey, thank you.

Chris Hoo: Thank you so much for coming out today on this beautiful post-rainy day in L.A.

Fran Drescher: Yes.

Chris Hoo: Fran, we met a few months ago at the Cannabis Science Conference and you were the featured speaker at that time. Can you tell us a little bit about how you got involved in the Cannabis Science Conference? And what led you to be so impassioned about the topic?

Fran Drescher: Well, I'm the founder of the Cancer Schmancer movement CancerSchmancer.org. And we produce annual a Master Class health summit. And in that summit, we have had a cannabis doctor and activist for a few seasons already, Dr. Uma. And she's a Harvard medical doctor that turned cannabis doctor for medicinal. So, we kind of feel like we're one of the first and foremost non-profits in the health space that has publicly embraced cannabis as a medicinal as perhaps a first option, rather than a last resort, and maybe even as a compliment. And also, as a supplement for everybody whether you are sick or not. So, that's kind of my window into it. And it was through Dr. Uma that the cannabis and science people were able to connect with me and ask me to be a keynote at their convention. And, you know, I feel very passionate about extending the mission of the Cancer Schmancer movement into this area since it's somewhat of a new frontier. I would hate to see the industry, growers, manufacturers, and users, to do it in an irresponsible way that the industrialist of the 20th century practiced.

And so, we at Cancer Schmancer have a very pro-active program called Detox Your Home. And the home is the most toxic place we spend the most time in, and ironically have the most control over. And 95% of most of our disease, including cancer, is environmentally stimulated. So, you know, we're really making a huge effort to try and get people to start connecting how they live with how they feel. And this is just a natural extension of that because I have a great regard and respect for the plant. And I think that we need to honor it. And I think that we're a little bit at ground zero because there might have been a tremendous amount of advocacy for the usage of it that we don't have because the prohibition kind of kept it in the dark ages. But now it's all kind of happening and happening at a very rapid pace. And everybody is sort of jumping on the bandwagon. And a lot of people are doing it for the wrong reasons and not being spiritual or respectful. And, you know, are basically very greedy. So, the big business people are going to jump on this bandwagon too. And, you know, want to use my celebrity to try and persuade people to not shit this opportunity up to be perfectly frank. And I think that one of the things that I encourage users, as well as consumers across the board, is to boycott everything that is irresponsibly manufactured and not in the best interest of our health or the planet. So, I am very proactive and making a lot of noise about that where cannabis is concerned too. Because I think that we need to squeeze out all of that, that is not in-keeping with, you know, the respect of the plant, and the planet, and the user.

Chris Hoo: Thank you very much Fran. It's great to know that we have such a strong and well-spoken advocate who's, like you said, wanting to use their celebrity for good and for promoting good causes. Bringing us back to the Cancer Schmancer movement and the organization you found, can you tell us a little bit about how he found that movement and how Cancer Schmancer and clean living came to?

Fran Drescher: I have to say that Mr. Hoo, you happen to pronounce the name of my organization amazingly well.

Chris Hoo: Cancer Schmancer.

Fran Drescher: I have to tell you how many interviewers say it wrong. And here you are unexpectedly saying it perfectly. So, kudos to you.

Chris Hoo: Thank you Fran.

Fran Drescher: And that means cancer is not the boss of me. Cancer Schmancer.

Chris Hoo: Awesome. So, can you tell us a little bit about your history and how you came to found the Cancer Schmancer movement? And why that's so near and dear to your heart?

Fran Drescher: Yes. Well, I am a cancer survivor; 18 years well. And it took me two years and eight doctors to get a proper diagnosis. And so, I had uterine cancer. I needed a hysterectomy to cure me of the cancer. By the grace of God, I was still in stage 1. So, that kind of diminished any huge risk of non-recurrence. And I was very grateful that I had a slow growing cancer. And even after two years of misdiagnosis and mistreatment I was still in stage 1. And then I wrote what became the New York Times Best Seller, Cancer Schmancer; which detailed my story and my growth as a human being and the silver linings that came out of the experience and the depths of depths of despair and all of that. And went on, you know, book tours and speaking a lecture series; which is what one has available to you when you're a celebrity with a compelling story and a New York Times Best Seller. And I realize that what happened to me has happened to millions of Americans; mistreatment, misdiagnosis. And for many who had cancer—a much less fortunate outcome than my own—a late stage diagnosis.

So, I started to ask the questions, "Well, why isn't everybody being diagnosed in stage 1 when it's most curable? Catch it on arrival, 95% survival." So, that became the corner stone of what became the Cancer Schmancer movement because I realized that the book was not the end, but the just the beginning of what was to become a life mission. And I think that, you know, obviously, bad things happen to good people but what you do with it, how you work through it, and what becomes of you as a result is what makes all the difference. And for me, turning lemons into lemonade and pain into purpose has really helped make sense out of the senseless. So, it makes me feel good, too. I feel like I got famous, I got cancer, and I lived to talk about it. So, that's my purpose. I mean, I stand up for many different causes, but obviously, this is the main event for me. And so, that was kind of how it all began. But then shortly after becoming an early detection driven cancer organization I began to realize that, first of all, cancer is the end stage of inflammation. A long time of inflammation in the body that people are not always even away they are experiencing or realizing that this can continue down a path that they would rather, you know, obviously, not reach.

So, looking at the body as a whole system, and looking at understanding what functional medicine is, having more of an interest and education of the wisdom of medicine that has been practiced in Asia for thousands of years, as well as indigenous cultures became very important to me almost to the point of obsession. And so, as the visionary of the organization I started to shift into causation and away from traditional Western reductionist medicine, which is only treating the end symptom and not actually the cause. And once we shift into focusing on causation the whole body begins to open up. And you have to look at your entire life-style; everything. What you're exposing yourself to, how you're dealing with stress, what your emotions are. You know, what traumas you've had. You know, just what kind of dental attention have you paid to your mouth? Do you have root canal? Have you had any extractions? Do you have allergies? Were you born caesarean section? You know, I cannot tell you how all of this impacts your health and how your body weathers the storm. What is your gut doing? How is that impacting your immune system? Your brain?

So, there's just so many places explore. And there's a whole world of functional medicine doctors out there that went to medical school, drank the Kool-Aid, started practicing, and actually started to question if this is the best way. And they felt, no, it's not the best way, there's a better way and it's call functional medicine; it's whole body medicine. Looking at all the systems in the body, the beautiful complexity of the way the human—and really all life—exist. And so, you know, we immediately embraced that at Cancer Schmancer. And that is the main thrust of what our Master Class health summit is annually. Because what we do is bring to our live audience as well as our live streamed audience around the world doctors that are busting out of the box and asking the right questions and approach all different kinds of diseases for whole family health differently. And now that was videotaped, our 2018 Master Class, and that is going to be released this spring. It's currently being edited and that will be released free to the world online first as a 7-Day education series with averaging two doctors for each episode. And then, available for your video library as a tax-deductible download.

So, that you know, kind of helps sustain us as an organization. And also, helps keeps spreading the word because I think that everybody needs to understand that there are more options out there that are being offered to the average Western medical patient. And we want to educate, motivate, and activate people to take control of their bodies—which is something we always say at Cancer Schmancer—transform being a patient into a medical consumer, know what you're doing to contribute to your disease with mindless consumerism and become better partners with your physician by recognizing the early warning whispers. And rather than being a person that sticks their head in the sand and allows themselves to be distracted with things that are not as important as early detection shift into saying to yourself, "This could be nothing, but God forbid it's something. I need to find out at its earliest and most curable stage because I'm useless to my family if I'm six feet under."

Chris Hoo: Wow, thank you so much Fran for sharing that. I know that's very personal and very dear to your heart. I had the pleasure of attending the health summit last year with my law firm and we definitely learned a lot. One of the things I took from one of the things you said was, "Pain is your body's way of releasing weakness." I thought that was so powerful. I mean, duh.

Fran Drescher: Well, and also it tells you what your limitations are. It's a good barometer. And we're so conditioned to try and suppress our symptoms and our pain that we either end up doing things that are going against the body's capability, but we don't feel the pain. So, we don't know that we're pushing the beyond its limits and not allowing it to health. Or, you know, we're suppressing symptoms and we're not really looking at why we have the symptoms in the first place, which is silly. We should allow the symptoms to express themselves and start looking at the body as a system. And through elimination of possibilities really see what is going to impact those symptoms most effectively. But if we're masking them with a suppressant then, you know, we're kind of in the blind. We're not even asking the right questions, we're not looking at the source of the problem. And it's just the wrong way to approach it I really feel like everybody needs to just wake up and smell the coffee because once you do that it's hard to go back to sleep.

Chris Hoo: Yes, thank you for waking us up Fran. Circling back to the health summit and also your personal life Fran, I know that you have a doctor named Dr. Uma. And she was without a doubt my favorite speaker at the summit last year.

Fran Drescher: No wait a minute, that includes me?

[Laughter]

Chris Hoo: She was my favorite non-Fran speaker.

Fran Drescher: Okay. [Laugh]

Chris Hoo: But she had some great things to say about cannabis. It sounds like she is an advocate-

Fran Drescher: Yeah, she's a brilliant woman.

Chris Hoo: -she wants to break up the stigma.

Fran Drescher: Yes.

Chris Hoo: Can you tell us a little bit about how Dr. Uma has educated you or brought you into the fold with cannabis? How she's maybe incorporated into your treatment?

Fran Drescher: Well, for me, you know, I take cannabis supplementally because I'm not in treatment, I'm essentially fine. So, I'm not trying to fix anything. However, I do get low level inflammation which you always want to keep at bay because that's chronic low-level inflammation is very unhealthy for the human body. So, you know, cannabis is an anti-inflammatory. It also calms you down. So, I have issues with my adrenals due to a whole separate experience that I had where I was a victim of a violent crime. And so, my adrenals kind of went dim from the horror of the experience. And so, I have to very manually bring down my cortisol levels or they're just going to hang out there and create havoc in my body. So, the cannabis comes in helpful for that as well. You know, it just kind of decompresses everything. And I just believe that especially as you get older and your body produces less cannabinoids, it's a good supplement to support your body's system. So, that's how I take it. But she's helping my father who has Parkinson's. And, you know, she believes in titrating. So, taking it very, very slow.

Chris Hoo: I'm sorry, she believes in what treating?

Fran Drescher: Tie trait, tie trait. That's the word she uses to take it very, very slow little bits at a time, and journal, and drink water, and eat. And that's how you introduce yourself to cannabis as a medicinal. And then there are so many different delivery systems. You know? If you needed relief quickly, then inhalation is obviously the fastest. If you are interested in a kind of long-span, then edibles are better. If you have a brain issue like my dad does with Parkinson's, then you need to have the TCH because that works on the brain in a way that some of the elements of the plant that work on the body doesn't really go to the brain like the TCH does. So, you know, all of these things I've learned from Dr. Uma. And, you know, she's very passionate, very eloquent speaker as you said. And, you know, we at Cancer Schmancer feel very blessed to have her be part of our mission. You know, she went to Harvard. She's not a doctor that can be easily dismissed. She's the real deal. And she understands with great passion and clarity why this needs to be allowed to infiltrate culture and not be put into any kind of a class of a drug because it's a plant. And as a plant it has variables just like one tomato to another; one strawberry to another. They're not always- From plant to plant it's not going to have always the same reaction. It's not always going to have the same strength. You know, it's almost more like I see us moving back towards the village doctor or the herbologist, the medicine woman, the local person that understands how much nature has offered us. And everything we need is in nature. And we don't need to own everything or put it into a box. I think that we need to move back to a more indigenous idea of how food is medicine and medicine is food.

Chris Hoo: Absolutely. And that's actually definitely one of the takeaways I got from Dr. Uma. She went on a very compassionate speech about the so-called war on drugs and how it was just a racist BS war. And that we're trying to undo the damage it did after all these years.

Fran Drescher: Which was all greed driven and political. And there was a time after World War II when the U.S. Congress tried to encourage American farmers to grow hemp because its myriad of diverse things that it can offer society. From clothing, to paper, to fuel, to medicine. And the industrialist of the day, which Dr. Uma talks about as well, just went right in with their deep pocketed lobbyist and put a stop to it. And not only put a stop to the encouragement of growing hemp, but actually made it illegal. So, it's the most egregious form of greed you can imagine. And I just want to see this new age for the plan to be done right and respectfully.

Chris Hoo: Thank you so much Fran. And I think we're all on the same page when it comes to, we're trying to create an industry that has been illegal, has been underground for all these years and we're trying to make it legal now and compliant and have regulations. You talk about like us not being too corporate or not getting overrun by greed. Can you tell me a little bit about the vision you have for the cannabis industry? If you had your way, what would the cannabis industry, the legal cannabis industry look like?

Fran Drescher: Well, I think that it would be legal everywhere both medicinal and recreational as it is here in Los Angeles. I think that it would be absolutely organic even biodynamically grown. And ideally, I think that it should grow in the earth with a really healthy biodynamic soil, you know? And really out in fresh air and sunlight where it's not artificially controlled. You know, natural, and clean, and pristinely grown as I think God intended it to be. So, that would be my call.

Chris Hoo: Beautiful. So, Fran I'm just going to circle a little bit back to your history and where you come from. You're from New York, obviously, that's what you're known for from being from New York. Can you tell us a little bit about your childhood and the environment you grew up in? And how that influenced the way you see Cannabis and the way you see the plant today?

Fran Drescher: Well, I grew up in Flushing Queens, New York, which was a borrow neighborhood in the shadow of Manhattan just over the bridge. And it was a middle-class neighborhood, my parents were working people and it was a nice place to come from. Simon and Garfunkel came from my neighborhood, Jerry Seinfeld came from my neighborhood, Ray Romano was in my graduating class. So, there was a lot of interesting talent that was coming up around in the '70s I guess. Simon and Garfunkel are a little older so maybe the '60s for them. And I'm very grateful that I had two loving parents and a sister. And we were fairly close, you know? My parents didn't discourage me from realizing my dreams. They didn't need me to be anything but whatever would make me happy. And I think by considering they are both pretty perventual, that was kind of a very open. And so, I'm grateful for that as well. And I think, you know, by the time I was in high school mostly everybody that I knew was smoking pot, and I was too. It was different the pot then than it is now. You know, and I mean I remember just sharing a joint and you would just laugh for hours. It was just so different and amazing. And I guess clean and pure. And I was never an aficionado. And never dealt with it or anything like that. But I did enjoy smoking pot over the years. Then ironically as I got older and definitely after I had been diagnosed with cancer it no longer felt right for me. And I took a long break from it. And then when I re-introduced myself to it, I became like a really lightweight, which I like because I am what I call a one hit wonder.

Chris Hoo: Yeah.

Fran Drescher: And one hit does the trick. So, that's better. I actually realized that I was numbing myself from my feelings with cannabis. And then when my first marriage started to come apart. And I started going to this very serious psycho-therapist who actually helped me a great deal. She said, "You know, you can't be stoned when you come in here because this is all about feeling your feelings not avoiding your feelings." And I needed help for sure because I kind of hit a brick wall. I was famous and successful, but not happy. And I had to really look at my relationships, and my fears, and my feelings, and how I factored myself into my own life. And how I really wasn't really dealing with any of that; I was just getting stoned. So, which helped me in the sense that I wasn't fixing the source of the problem, but it was mellowing me out and it wasn't as bothered by any of it. But, you know, it would continuously rear its ugly head. And until finally I felt like I was really painted in a corner and I had to really take this apart in a very serious way. Like an onion, just keep peeling off the skins and exam everything; my relationships with each member of my family, and my relationship with my husband and most importantly myself.

And so, she, this doctor, this psycho-therapist got me to break the cycle of smoking to avoid my feelings. And then I started to realize that, you know, my dad would say something to me, and I would want to take a hit off my pipe, but I wouldn't because I had to start conditioning myself to recognize—wait a minute, what am I feeling here? And what do I need to express to my dad in a way that he can hear me so we can get passed this? And you know, I mean I'm very grateful that, that all worked out. I broke the cycle of getting high to avoid my feelings; that's not cool. I learned how to eventually in the moment be able to express something to someone that I felt wasn't, you know, handling a situation on my behalf in my best interest. And I had to learn how to cope with problems without being stoned. And I did all of that. So, that was kind of- And that was kind of just before and after I was diagnosed with the cancer. All of that ark of getting in touch with me and my pain that went back to early childhood and all of it I was doing completely sober. And so, when I was ready to go back it was from a completely different window. And I had pivoted the way I use cannabis. Not as a something to numb me from my feelings. I'm now in touch with my feelings and I am comfortable feeling my feelings. But now I take it supplementally because I feel like it's a healthy thing for the human body. I take it when I feel like my cortisol levels for whatever reason that they were triggered need to be manually toned down. And I take it sometimes to help with inflammation. Like just this past two weeks I've had a bad back which I haven't had in years, but I guess traveling or wearing these new boots that didn't have a good enough arch, I think. But whatever my back got thrown out.

And I went to physical therapy, but I also use the cannabis to help reduce the inflammation because although Advil worked, I don't want to take Advil all the time because it's very hard on the kidneys. And cannabis really isn't hard on anything. It's a total positive support for the body. So, you know, does it work like taking two Advil? Well, maybe not. But does it take the curse off the really sharp pain? Yes, it did. So, you know, it's a weighing and measuring thing. We've become brainwashed into thinking oh my God, we can't feel anything. We have to get rid of the pain immediately. We have to suppress the symptom right away. And it's like no, we have to actually get more connected to our body and actually feel our body more. And be more self-aware of what's going on. And constantly be having an inner dialogue with our body, constantly. Because where the thermostat of our body, our minds, is the thermostat of our body.

And we know when we feel great, what's our optimum 72 degrees. You know what that is, or when you feel great memorize that feeling. Now it's up to you to keep evaluating all the interferences that may upset, rock the boat, that thermostat for maintaining the optimum 72 degrees. And then you have to say to yourself, "Okay, well my boss yelled at me and it wasn't even my fault. So, now I'm stressed about it." And, "Maybe I need to take some antioxidants to support my immune system because we know that stress is a huge compromise for the immune system, and I don't want to get sick." I may take a little hit from the cannabis to calm down my cortisol levels and just chill a little bit. And, you know, I might meditate—which I do daily. I might lay down, I might take a walk around the block in the fresh air and walk it off. But these are the kinds of things that we have to recondition ourselves, or you've never been conditioned to think this way. But you have to start having a constant dialogue with your body, and then evaluating what needs to be done to get it back to that optimum 72 degrees because you're the thermostat.

Chris Hoo: Thank you for such beautiful analogies’ Fran. It's definitely helping the images sticking them out of my mind for them to stay there. These are all lessons that people don't learn. Like you have to- These are life lessons that you learn over the years through pain and suffering. Can you please share some other important lessons you learned besides like listening to your body and trying to check your thermostat? What are some important lessons that you can impart on us?

Fran Drescher: Well, I think not living in fear is something that's important to move towards what we resist is important. To always challenge yourself to keep growing. To not put your needs on a back burner for others. You're doing yourself a grave disservice. What is that message you're telling yourself when you don't take care of you? You know, it's like the parents on the plane who was told to put their breathing mask on before the child. There’s nothing wrong with taking care of number one first. And I used to think that I was indulging myself if I did that. And I had a disproportionate view of myself as some kind of a care-giver to everyone else, a super woman. And then I got cancer which was so leveling and actually such a wake up that I walk on the earth with everyone else, I bleed like everyone else, I'm as vulnerable as everyone else. And part of my obsession with helping other people was actually avoiding my own problems because it gave me a false sense of being together. And I wasn't together. And the cancer kind of gave me that license to make it about me. And the day I just started saying to people, you know, "I can't help you. I can't even help myself. I'm as fucked up as you are." So, you know, all I can say to you is what I would do if I were in your situation and then do what you want. You know? So, I think I've become Buddhist. I'm a Jew-boo.

[Laughter]

Fran Drescher: And that is such an incredible way to live. I mean, I don't know any philosophy for me that is more important. So, I'm very grateful to that. Somebody just said to me the other day, "Oh, if I wasn't a Kabbalist, I would be a Buddhist." And I said, "You know, you can be both."

Chris Hoo: Why not both?

Fran Drescher: Exactly.

Chris Hoo: You know, Buddhism compliments anything you want to call yourself. So, you know, embrace it because if you pick up on just a few pearls of wisdom that become a lifestyle for you than more power to you, right? You know, I'll take wisdom wherever I can get it. And I think I kind of hit the bullseye with that for sure. And I think meditation is very important thing. And one of the things that I learned about that is you don't have to be good at it. So, forget about feeling like you're not good at it and you're not going to do it anymore. Let's say you're not good at it and you are always thinking about other things when you're supposed to be meditating which is a common pitfall. That's okay. Just lay there or sit there and commit to doing it every day. And even if you're not good at it overtime it will have its impact on you. Even if, you know, your alarm goes off after 10 minutes, or 20 minutes, or 30 minutes and you say, "Oh my God, where was I? I was so busy thinking about other things the whole time went by and I really wasn't doing it." But you were doing it. On some level you were doing it. So, don't beat yourself up. Here's a very good wisdom: don't make the perfect the enemy of the good. And when you cut yourself that kind of slack it's just so much better than trying to be perfect or the best. First of all, it isn't necessary. And second of all good is sometimes good enough. Just do it. Just do it. So, those are some tips, Fran tips.

Chris Hoo: Thank you so much Fran, the Jew-boo. From the little I know about Buddhism I do know that there's no wrong way to meditate and you don't need to initially think about anything, or you don't need to necessarily do anything, it's really up to you.

Fran Drescher: Actually cooking, floral arrangements, there are many forms of Zen meditation. It doesn't have to be sitting with your feet planted on the ground. I prefer to lay down personally when I do it. But I also love arranging flowers and I love cooking. And, you know, it's all very, very meditative to me. The thought behind it though is that you make time to do something that gives you a great deal of peace. I mean, being in nature to me is when I feel closest to God. God is great outdoors. And so, you know, it's get more connected to your body and get more connected to the natural world. Like I don't want to leave without saying try not to use these plastic water bottles anymore because you can use glass if you want to drink spring water—which is lovely, but not in plastic because that is going to do us in big time. Even if they say the plastic isn't BPA, we cannot, the planet cannot digest plastic. And definitely not in the massive amounts that we keep- There's nothing disposable about plastic. So, we have to stop using it. And people like you should be aware of that. And then this probably not organic either from the looks of it and you should be mindful of that too.

You're young so you probably have more of an immortal feeling right now, but truth be told younger and younger people are getting older diseases. And the kids of today for the first time in U.S. history are predicted to not live as long as their parents. And we at Cancer Schmancer don't want to be that a self-fulfilling prophecy. So, we actually produce a fantastic half hour education video starring Jamie Foxx, and myself, and Jeff Bridges, along with this great ensemble of multi-racial kids, and animation, and music to empower kids to understand that all of this has to be avoided because kids do not vote, and they don't pay taxes. So, they don't wield a lot of influence with legislators. But they are a multi-billion-dollar demographic. So, if I can retrain them to become mindful consumers, they can actually have a profound impact on irresponsible manufacturing trends and dictate more responsible ones. Because if everybody stopped drinking Cola today, they'd stop making it tomorrow.

And it wouldn't matter what legislation was imposed because at the end of the day it's all about supply and demand. And if there's no demand, then they won't be any supply. And I just watched the Super Bowl and I was so annoyed by so many big named celebrities that are just so unaware and promoting colas, which could not be more unhealthy. Not one redeeming quality to ingest beverages like that. And it's really doing in a generation with obesity and diabetes. And high levels of corn syrups, sweeteners that are all GMO derived. So, leaky gut, inflammation, allergies, this is an all stemming from a very unhealthy diet. Industrial farmed foods have to be stocked, but if we boycott them, they will go out of business. And it's really up to us to support organic family farmers who are doing it right and to put pressure on legislators to support with farm bills, organic farmers; not just Monsanto farmers. So, corrupt. So, on Earth Day which is April 22nd, 2019 we are going to release globally the Be The Change video that I just spoke about targeting tweens, teens, and college students to wake up and see what they're doing wrong. They are all very impressionable to big business advertising. Very victimized by a need to be popular and give into peer pressure. But we're trying to change their thinking.

Chris Hoo: Maybe change what peer pressure means.

Fran Drescher: That's correct. Reverse it to be positive instead of negative. And to engage their parents as well who are buying this stuff that's being brought into the home for not only the family members but the family pet. And everybody’s in poor health as a result of mindless consumerism. And through that we're enabling sociopaths in big business who really don't care about the things that are of true value; our natural resources and our health. So, that's just pure demonic sickness that cannot be indulged or enabled. But we are doing it with this mindless consumerism.

Chris Hoo: Thank you Fran.

Fran Drescher: So, again, it's a work in-progress, you know?

Chris Hoo: Yes. Well, this kind of segues into-

Fran Drescher: Everyday life is going to offer you opportunities to do the right thing; to try and operate from a higher self. And just notice them and try and do them. And if you don't do them, don't beat yourself up say, "You know what? Next time maybe I'll make a different choice." We're on a journey and it ain't over till you are and maybe not even then. So, just keep putting one foot in front of the other because a thousand-mile journey begins by a single step.

Chris Hoo: Absolutely. Thank you so much Fran. And just to segue into our last question. And I think you already partially answered it, but I'll give you an opportunity to give us more details. What is the future for Fran in terms of Cancer Schmancer, in terms of the health summit, in terms of your career, and you healthy living?

Fran Drescher: Well, I mean, I'm on a journey of self-refinement. So, that's first and foremost. It's not to say that I'm perfect. I'm very far from perfect, but I keep trying to be better. So, that's one thing. And sometimes do the hard thing if it's the right thing. As far as my career goes, I'm busy, I'm always busy. And now I'm pitching ideas because I'm a writer/producer for myself to get back on TV. And it looks like something is going to come together. And I'm also writing something for Broadway that I would not be in, but that's going really very successfully well at a good clip. And I think I have another book in May. I just have to discipline myself to sit down and write it. And I'm now dabbling in stand-up comedy which I'd never really done before, but the opportunities are coming my way. And so, I'm building a stand-up act which I'm excited about. It's really flying without a net and it scares me and it's outside of my safety and comfort zone. But again, you know, it feels good when I succeed.

And so, life is about new experiences and that certainly is one for me. So, that's kind of the career thing. And I'm part of that whole animated film franchise Hotel Transylvania. So, hopefully we'll do another one. And as far as Cancer Schmancer goes we're very proud of where we're at. We're kind of the engine that could which is keep on keeping on. And now with the release this year on Earth Day of the Be The Change teen video with Jamie Foxx, and then in the spring our Fran Drescher Master Class health summit 2019 being released globally. We feel very accomplished and optimistic. We would like to see the Master Class perhaps be held in different places in the world, not just in Los Angeles. And in June we have our fun fundraiser which is the Cabrera dinner cruise in New York Harbor. So, we get the Best Of Broadway and Cabrera in New York to perform. And we take a cruise to the Statue of Liberty. And we serve organic dinner and it's a good time that's had by all. And I of course speak, and everybody gets to take a picture with me with a professional photographer. So, it's a wonderful opportunity for us all to be together and remember why Cancer Schmancer works as hard as it does on behalf of the greater good. And have a good time and raise some more money.

So, that's my spiritual career and feel anthropic. You know, I'm really for the first time in my life totally peaceful being on my own. I don't need to be in an intimate relationship. I'm always open to one, but I don't mind being with myself like I once did. And I can see how much I've grown that I can actually say that. And I have wonderful friends, and I love to entertain, and I love music and going to concerts, and having dinner parties, and going to restaurants, and movies, and things like spectator sports. So, it's all good. I'm very grateful. I have a dog and we make a good team. And my parents are still living and I've very grateful for that too because, you know, we're closer than ever. And I'm so happy that FaceTime got invented because they live in Florida and I get to see them every day on FaceTime. So, when I'm not with them in person we're with each other regardless. And that's a beautiful gift that we all live long enough to experience.

Chris Hoo: Absolutely. And I mean, going back to me, I think that's definitely something that I've learned as I've gotten older too, you appreciate and you want to talk to your parents more, more and more.

Fran Drescher: Ah yes, I see that. I mean, I remember there was a time when like I moved to California and they were still in New York and like two weeks would go by and I just wouldn't- They'd have to call me. And I didn't know what that is, but as time went on that kind of dissipated and the closeness. But you know it might also be because we got to the other side of any conflicts that had formed an invisible wedge between us. And that enabled us to get even closer.

Chris Hoo: Wonderful. Okay, well that's all the questions that I have for you Fran.

Fran Drescher: Okay.

Chris Hoo: Thank you so much for coming and talking with us at Cannalaw Connections today. And please, keep us in the loop about your career and about Cancer Schmancer, and how we can support you in the future.

Fran Drescher: Well, if any of your listeners want to get in touch with us at cancerschmancer.org we welcome people who want to deepen their support of us both financially or with in-kind expertise.

Chris Hoo: Absolutely. Okay, thank you.

Fran Drescher: Thank you, thank you.