The conversation on marijuana and cancer has grown exponentially in the past decade. Many attribute it to recent legalization laws, others to the growing research utilizing marijuana as a treatment method.
Either way, there is no denying more cancer patients are considering medical marijuana treatment. Through understanding the options, research behind the plant, and patient stories, cancer patients are turning to medical marijuana now more than ever before.
What Options Cancer Patients Face In Treatment
There are many types of cancer treatment, depending on the type of cancer you have and how advanced it is. For example, some patients may have a combination of treatments, and other need only one treatment. The range in options include the following:
- Surgery: Surgeons physically remove cancer from a patient’s body.
- Risk: Pain, infection
- Radiation Therapy: Radiation in high doses, kills cancer cells and shrinks tumors.
- Risks: Damage healthy cells, fatigue, hair loss, skin changes, fertility issues, and more
- Chemotherapy: Intake of a drug to kill cancer cells.
- Risks: Damage healthy cells, fatigue, hair loss, skin changes, fertility issues, and more
- Immunotherapy: Strengthening the immune system to fight cancer.
- Risks: Skin effects, flu-like symptoms, and more
- Targeted Therapy: Treatment that targets the change in cancer cells that help them grow, divide, and spread.
- Risks: Liver problems, high blood pressure, blood clotting, fatigue, and more
- Hormone Therapy: Treatment that slows or stops the growth of breast and prostate cancers that use hormones to grow.
- Risks: Hot flashes, weakened bones, fatigue, and loss of interest or ability to have sex
- Stem Cell Therapy: Procedures that restore blood-forming stem cells in cancer patients who have had theirs destroyed by very high doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
- Risks: Bleeding problems, increase the risk of infection, graft-versus-host disease, and more
- Prescription Medication Treatment: Prescription medicine helps doctors select cancer treatments that are most likely to help patients based on a genetic understanding of their disease.
- Risks: High blood pressure, blood clotting, fatigue, headache, hormonal change, and more
- Medical Marijuana Treatment: Treatment with marijuana consumption or skin application that has shown to contain compounds that reduce, reverse, and stop cancer cell growth
- Risks: Temporary anxiety and disorientation
Why More Cancer Patients Are Considering Medical Marijuana Treatment
When looking at the current cancer treatment plans and their risks, it’s clear why so many patients are considering medical marijuana treatment. Cancer can be a very painful process, emotionally and physically. Multiple studies have shown medical marijuana to help mentally, as well as with pain alleviation.
A team of researchers in Canada and the U.S. recently conducted a review of the science. In their report, published in the journal Clinical Psychology Review, researchers found evidence that cannabis can likely benefit people dealing with depression, social anxiety and PTSD.
Aside from medical marijuana helping treat symptoms, multiple studies have suggested it actually tohelp cure cancer.
A team of Spanish scientists led by Manuel Guzman conducted the first clinical trial assessing the antitumoral action of THC on human beings. Guzman administered pure THC via a catheter into the tumors of nine hospitalized patients with glioblastoma, who had failed to respond to standard brain-cancer therapies. The results were published in 2006 in the British Journal of Pharmacology: THC treatment was associated with significantly reduced tumor cell proliferation in every test subject.
Harvard University scientists reported that THC slows tumor growth in common lung cancer and “significantly reduces the ability of the cancer to spread.” What’s more, like a heat-seeking missile, THC selectively targets and destroys tumor cells while leaving healthy cells unscathed. Conventional chemotherapy drugs, by contrast, are highly toxic; they indiscriminately damage the brain and body.
What’s Happening To Cancer Cells With Medical Marijuana?
There are specific properties of cannabis that studies have to help kill cancer cells. These properties are a huge reason so many cancer patients are considering medical marijuana treatment. The ways it has shown to help cure cancer include:
- Anti-proliferative: Cancer cells grow and spread, also known as proliferating. Cannabis is anti-proliferative. Research has shown that cannabinoids inhibit cell proliferation in breast, prostate, and lung cancers.
- Anti-angiogenic: Angiogenesis is the process when tumors grow by consuming nutrients and oxygen from other parts of the body and developing new blood vessels. Cannabis compounds have shown to stop the development of blood vessels and cut the food supply. This prevents the tumor from consuming nutrients and oxygen from other parts of the body, causing starvation.
- Apoptosis: Research is suggesting cannabis can actually kill cancer cells. THC and CBD are both showing to act as agents killing neuroblastoma cells, the most common tumors among children.
- Anti-metastatic: Metastasis occurs when cancer cells spread to other parts of the body. Studies have shown cannabis helping prevent cancer cells from spreading and infecting healthy cells.
Cancer Patients Seeing Results
Even with the research, the accumulation of interest in medical marijuana treatment is no doubt spurred by first-hand patient testimonials. There are countless accounts claiming medical marijuana helped cure their cancer. It’s no wonder so many cancer patients are considering medical marijuana.
A classic example is Sharon Kelly, a 54 year old wife and mother, who was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. Her doctors told her that all treatment options were too risky considering the severity of her condition. After hearing about medical marijuana testimonials online, Kelly decided she would let her last hope fall in the hands of medical marijuana treatment. The results were unbelievable.
“Within a few months, her tumor had shrunk from 5cm to 2.1cm and her lymph nodes had retained their normal size. Her doctors noted the fluid surrounding her heart was also no longer visible. After seven months of cannabis oil treatment, Kelly’s scans indicated she was completely cancer-free, shocking her oncologist and others familiar with her case. Now, 13 months after her initial diagnosis, Kelly remains cancer-free and credits the use of cannabis oil for not only her otherwise unexplained recovery but also her ability to live out the rest of her life amidst the love and comfort of her family.”
Stories like this are not rare. In fact, there are multiple non-profits dedicated to educating and advocating for the use of medical marijuana to help treat cancer.
How Cancer Treatment With Medical Marijuana Works
The process to utilize medical marijuana to treat cancer is simpler than most imagine. For treating cancer, it’s recommended to use a highly concentrated cannabis oil. Many dispensaries may not carry this, or may not carry the same strength needed for treatment, so it’s recommended to make your own. Videos can also be found on YouTube. If you do decide to make your own oil, be sure to take the necessary safety precautions and talk to your doctor.
After making the concentrated oil, it’s recommended to consume orally and/or directly to tumors. When applying directly to tumors, it’s best to spread upon the affected area, then cover with a bandage (changing every 3-4 days). It’s also important to be mindful on dosing quantity through this process.
Finding A Doctor To Discuss Medical Marijuana Treatment
As always, it’s best to talk to a doctor about your condition and treatment options. If you decide medical marijuana is something you or your loved one would like to explore, it’s important to have a doctor who understands the plant, and can act as a resource during your journey. PrestoDoctor has some of the most knowledgeable doctors surrounding medical marijuana in the country.
For an evaluation, and to see if this option may be right for you, sign up for your online medical marijuana card evaluation. From there, the doctor can explain the process and recommend a custom treatment plan for your needs. If you don’t qualify, you won’t have to pay. Get your online appointment TODAY.
