It dulls the pain

[Graham]

I have a dear friend in his late 50's, who is dying of bone marrow cancer.
While all his organs are healthy, his bones are crumbling within him, resulting in a great deal of pain.

Traditional pain relievers have not been that effective, but recently he has discovered that whisky helps quite a bit in dulling the pain.
He's never been much of a drinker, but has now developed quite a liking for a dram.
His favourite so far is Glenfiddich, so when I visit tomorrow I'll take him a bottle of 12 year.

He is in a nursing home, not a hospital, so there's no problem with the drink in house.

I guess there's no point in telling him that whisky fights cancer, he's too advanced for it to help.

but it dulls the pain and make his life a wee bit more bearable.