Helen Kapalos was left almost broke after quitting Channel Seven's Sunday Night to make medical marijuana documentary

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Helen Kapalos, 45, 'paid for groceries with 20 cent coins' after quitting job
After being sacked from Network Ten in 2012, she joined 7's Sunday Night
She interviewed Dan Haslam, 25, who suffered inoperable bowel cancer
Mr Haslam spoke about illegally sourcing cannabis oil on the black market
Month after he died Kapalos quit and got $80,000 loan for a documentary

By Lucy Mae Beers For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 00:11 EST, 7 October 2016 | Updated: 04:31 EST, 7 October 2016

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Former journalist Helen Kapalos has revealed she was left broke after quitting her glittering television career to pour thousands into a documentary about medical marijuana.

The 45-year-old became passionate about the controversy surrounding cannabis oil after interviewing inoperable bowel cancer sufferer Dan Haslam, 25, from Tamworth as a two-part segment on Channel Seven's Sunday Night in 2014.

Kapalos quit her job a month after Mr Haslam died in February 2015 and took out an $80,000 loan to document the 'truth about medicinal marijuana'.

She said she is still paying off the loan and there have been times she was forced to use '20 cent coins to buy groceries,' the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

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Former journalist Helen Kapalos has revealed she was left broke after quitting her glittering television career to pour thousands into a documentary

In 2012, Kapalos was the victim of cost-cuts and was sacked by the Ten Network just after delivering the nightly bulletin

In 2012, Kapalos was the victim of cost-cuts and was sacked by the Ten Network just after delivering the nightly bulletin.

A year later, she became the face of Seven's Sunday Night. She interviewed Mr Haslam and his family in June 2014.

On the program, Ms Haslam spoke about illegally sourcing cannabis oil on the black market to provide some relief from his terminal bowel cancer.

The 25-year-old had more than 40 tumours on his liver and struggled to bounce back from his debilitating treatment.

He died in February 2015, and his mother Lucy said the marijuana managed his nausea, appetite and vomiting in his final months.

Kapalos was passionate to raise awareness for other Australian cancer sufferers in need of relief.

Kapalos became passionate about the controversy surrounding cannabis oil after interviewing inoperable bowel cancer sufferer Dan Haslam, 25, (both pictured) from Tamworth

Kapalos (centre) quit her job a month after Mr Haslam (left) died in February 2015 and took out an $80,000 loan to document the 'truth about medicinal marijuana'

Her documentary 'A Life Of Its Own - The truth about medical marijuana', which premiered on June 18, looked at the largest human trials of medical marijuana in the world

'I did a crazy thing - I went to the bank and told them I was renovating my kitchen and they gave me an $80,000 redraw,' Kapalos told Daily Mail Australia in June.

'It might have seemed a bit foolish but I just got cracking.'

Her documentary 'A Life Of Its Own - The truth about medical marijuana', which premiered on June 18, looked at the largest human trials of medical marijuana in the world.

'Sometimes you don't recognise what an opportunity looks like until down the track,' Kapalos said.

Cannabis oil is legal in Israel, Spain and several states across the US. In Australia, only Victoria has made medical cannabis legal for patients in exceptional circumstances.

Kapalos is pictured with Canberra girl Abbey Dell, 4, who suffers a rare neurological disorder known as CDKL5

Kapalos's mother Joanna died from cancer at 56 and the former TV presenter also had her own brush with the disease after a scan revealed a large tumour in 2013

Kapalos interviewed experts in the field around the world including oncologist Dr Moshe Inbar at the Sourasky Hospital Cancer Centre in Tel Aviv for the documentary

The Victorian Parliament passed legislation to allow locally manufactured products available for patients from early 2017.

Mr Haslam's mother worked with Kapalos on the documentary in a bid to 'educate and dispel the many myths surrounding medicinal cannabis.'

'I will continue working with NSW premier Mike Baird and will diligently work in the cross party parliamentary drug law reform group in Canberra,' she told Daily Mail Australia in June 2014.

Kapalos's mother Joanna died from cancer at 56 and the former TV presenter also had her own brush with the disease after a scan revealed a large tumour in 2013, according to Daily Life.

The tennis ball-sized tumour was removed a few months later and she was given the clean bill of health.

Kapalos quit her job a month after Mr Haslam (pictured) died in February 2015

Cannabis oil is legal in Israel, Spain and several states across the US. In Australia, only Victoria has made medical cannabis legal for patients in exceptional circumstances. Mr Haslam is pictured