Until recently chemotherapy and radiation have been the standard of care for anyone dealing with cancer. Some of these treatments are poisons that impede the efficacy of the immune system by destroying healthy cells along with cancer cells indiscriminately.
The good news is that cancer patients have gained the scientific seal of approval when it comes to using cannabis for symptom management of chemotherapy and radiation side effects. It reduces nausea and helps to slow down and/or prevent muscle-wasting syndrome, the cause of 20% of deaths in cancer patients, and is also used in palliative care.
The big scientific news is that the most researched active cannabis components, THC and CBD, have been found to kill cancer cells in laboratory experiments. Without killing non-cancerous cells, this response is specifically true for certain cancers and at certain phases of the cancer-cell life. The potential is very encouraging.
However, since cannabis remains classified by the US Government as a Schedule I drug of “no currently accepted medical use”, there is a dismal lack of funding for further research. Thus the hopeful information about cannabis killing cancer cells in laboratory in-vitro and animal studies is not enough.
Though human-study research is yet to happen and potentially offer more needed evidence, many people have testified on different websites, social media, Facebook, twitter, reddit, etc. as to the healing power of cannabis to rid them of cancer. With so many people making this claim we remain left on our own to determine if all the anecdotal evidence adds up to empowering information or not.
A handful of medical doctors in the U.S. already integrate cannabis therapy into some of their cancer patients’ treatment plans. The nuances of finding the best dose for such patients are limited by the research deficit but definitely possible through trial and error.
We find a further step in the validation of cannabis’ medical value as the US Government’s National Cancer Institute (NCI) reports that cannabis ‘may’ kill cancer cells. See question #6. Leading institutions from around the world are providing medical documentation that breaks down the precise mechanism by which THC and CBD target cancer cells.
For example, a new review in the British Journal of Pharmacology examines CBD’s potential in the direct treatment of cancer: Cannabinoids may have a vast array of anti-cancer effects, July 18, 2018, Wiley, British Journal of Pharmacology (2018).
Spain’s Doctor Christina Sanchez describes the bio-chemical process of cancer-cell suicide with cannabis in this short video. Don’t miss it.
Dr. Allan Frankel, MD, is one of the foremost doctors in the U.S. using cannabis with his cancer patients. Here’s a 2019 podcast interview with Dr. Frankel.
I look forward to the day when human research studies will be adequately funded to give us ever-more precise data about using cannabis as an anti-cancer agent.
What I so appreciate about your writing style is how clear and succinct you are with presenting the area of interest in a way that is easily understood regardless of prior knowledge about physiology or cannabis. Excellent video to support this topic which is vitally important to share with more and more people who are looking for alternative ways of dealing with cancer. Education is always the first step in creating change from the ground up. WAY TO GO!