Cannabis can not cure cancer, but it can help in a variety of ways including pain, neuropathy, nausea, appetite and more. But for day to day life, pain and appetite have an oversized influence. Over half of patients in cancer treatment and two thirds of those with advanced or terminal disease experience pain. Now studies are starting to take a deeper look into our medical marijuana can help with cancer pain.
Medical marijuana may be helpful for the management of cancer-related pain when conventional therapies are ineffective or are causing adverse effects. For patients with severe cancer pain, opioids are still considered the standard of treatment, but simultaneous use of marijuana may decrease pain signals in the brain, with additional anti-inflammatory properties. This could lead to a decrease in opioid dependence.
Medical marijuana can help those suffering from cancer-associated pain, as per a Technion studypublished Friday in the journal Frontiers in Pain Research. Almost half of the patients enrolled in the research discontinued their other pain medication after six months of medical cannabis treatment.
“Traditionally, cancer-related pain is mainly treated by opioid analgesics, but most oncologists perceive opioid treatment as hazardous, so alternative therapies are required,” said author David Meiri, an assistant professor at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology.
According to the peer-reviewed research, medical cannabis helps lower the pain in oncology patients while also alleviating other symptoms as well. Patients fighting cancer are known to also suffer from depression, anxiety and insomnia, which can also negatively impact the treatment and prognosis.
While opioids are effective in reducing pain, they have numerous negative side effects. For example, the synthetic opioid fentanyl is highly addictive and can cause death by overdose. The U.S. is in the midst of an opioid crisis with two-thirds of overdose deaths accredited to illegal opioid fentanyl use.
To address this, federal health officials signaled they are willing to try new approaches to stem the tragedy. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra announced that the Biden administration’s strategy to deal with the epidemic could include allowing supervised consumption sites.
Research Offers Hope
It seems that this new Israeli research also provides hope that medical marijuana can be utilized as an alternative to opioids. The study included certified oncologists who prescribed medical marijuana to their patients and reported on their progress.
“Patients completed anonymous questionnaires before starting treatment, and again at several time points during the following six months,” said study co-author Gil Bar-Sela, associate professor at the Ha’Emek Medical Center Afula. “We gathered data on a number of factors, including pain measures, analgesics consumption, cancer symptom burden, sexual problems and side effects.”
After analyzing all gathered data, the results revealed patients notably improved, and more importantly, their opioid use was reduced.
“Although our study was very comprehensive and presented additional perspectives on medical cannabis, the sex, age, and ethnicity, as well as cancer types and the stage of cancer meant the variety of patients in our study was wide-ranging,” Meiri said. “Therefore, future studies should investigate the level of effectiveness of medicinal cannabis in specific subgroups of cancer patients with more shared characteristics.”
Even the hesitant becomes curious about medical marijuana when dealing with chemotherapy. Studies have shown medical marijuana in the right dose can help relieve some of the side effects of chemotherapy. Nearly 25% of cancer patients receive chemotherapy during a given year. And the exhaustion is real and could last months even when the treatments are over.
Data demonstrates you can take cannabis with chemo and radiation, but it is wise to have a conversation with your oncologists as you consider blending it in to your regimen. Cancer is a life-threatening illness which knows no boundaries. The medical community is now open and researching on how to use the benefits of medical marijuana for healing parts of cancer. Here is what to know about chemotherapy and cannabis.
During chemotherapy, cancer patients experience a range of side effects. If you’re on a strong chemo regimen, usually the day after is when you’ll experience the worst symptoms and symptoms range from dizziness to nausea and vomiting. Patients need chemotherapy because it is a powerful treatment that kills the body’s growing cancerous cells, however, these side effects often make it a gruesome experience.
Aside from the fact that cannabis helps to mitigate some of the symptoms associated with chemotherapy, it also plays a supportive role in helping the body fight back cancerous cell growth when they get into chemotherapy and radiation.
One of the earliest side effects of chemotherapy is feeling nauseous, which is a disrupting factor for cancer patients. Many patients undergoing chemo complain of feeling excessively tired, headaches, high body temperatures and so on. By incorporating cannabis with chemotherapy you can significantly reduce the bulk of these side effects.
Like most medications, medical marijuana works over a period of tine with the right dosage. Taking it once doesn’t always provide the greatest benefits immediately.
A key benefit is it helps with a patients appetite, which is important for body maintenance. Patients complain after chemo they couldn’t eat or feel hungry. With cannabis, often the appetite returns with an increased craving for food and an urge to snack more.
Another side effect of chemotherapy is exhaustion. Coupled with feeling overwhelmed by the process they end up mental and physical challenged to move forward. A sativa “wakes” the body up and helps through the difficult times. CBD and THC posess properties that can keep patients alert and active throughout the chemo treatment process.
Another side effect can be insomnia, despite the exhaustion, they struggle to have a decent sleep. Since chemo patients are given steroids beforehand to help with the side effects, the majority also experience insomnia. Combining cannabis can help patients feel well-rested throughout the day, thus making it easier to sleep.
You may feel exhausted when combining cannabis or any other medication with chemotherapy. It can be an overwhelming experience if it isn’t done right. Here are some pointers to help you derive the best from using cannabis:
Always start low and go slow: don’t take so much cannabis at the same time.
Always consult your doctor or oncologist if you feel like you need to take more or lessen your dosage
Avoid using too many products simultaneously: sometimes, you may not get the best out of cannabis because you are taking too much medicine.
Cannabis is very safe when used with a doctor’s guidance.
Patients are often concerned about the “method of application” of cannabis when they are in chemo: they wonder if they should smoke it, chew it or consume it via other means. The easiest is through a tincture or oil. Under the tongue and it acts quickly without having to put stress or the lungs and it doesn’t have to be swallowed if there is nausea. If there is no nausea a gummy or maybe a cannabis beverage can be absorbed, but it may take time. The last way to consume is either through a vape or smoking. It is important to discuss this method with your health professional to avoid aggravation of the respiratory system.
Brain cancer has been in the news – it is a devastating diagnosis, but there is hope cannabis could help.
Michael Strahan has gone public with one of his daughters has brain cancer. Since then, she is having a slow recovery she is sharing to bring awareness brain cancer is an all age disease. Over 100,000 people are diagnosed with a primary brain tumor annually. Brain and other CNS tumors are the fifth most common cancer. Over 30,000 children are currently diagnosed with a brain tumor.Over 1 million people are living with a diagnosis of a primary brain tumor and it can be a rough road. Early research suggest medical marijuana may help with brain cancer.
It is proven cannabis has medical benefits, but more research needs to be done to better define how it can have an impact and help patients. Currently, the evidence that cannabis-based products can treat brain tumours or brain cancer is limited. Preliminary studies from the lab suggest that cannabinoid chemicals THC and CBD can stop glioblastoma (GBM) cells from growing, causing them to die and disrupting the blood supply to the tumour cells.
There has been some data and research around glioma which looks promising. Glioma is a growth of cells that starts in the brain or spinal cord. The cells in a glioma look similar to healthy brain cells called glial cells. Glial cells surround nerve cells and help them function. As a glioma grows it forms a tumor.
Preliminary studies from the lab suggest that cannabinoid chemicals THC and CBD can stop glioblastoma (GBM) cells from growing, causing them to die and disrupting the blood supply to the tumour cells.
In 2021, an early-stage trial led by Professor Susan Short suggested that adding a specific blend of these chemicals – in the form of a drug called Sativex – to chemotherapy could potentially help treat recurrent GBMs more effectively.
CXannabis-based drug Sativex approved as a prescription medicine. The drug, used in treating multiple sclerosis, was also found to be tolerable in combination with chemotherapy, with the potential to extend survival, in a phase I trial in glioblastomas.
A phase II trial, led by the University of Leeds, is assessing whether adding Sativex – an oral spray containing cannabinoids THC and CBD – to chemotherapy, could extend life for thousands diagnosed with a recurrent glioblastoma. Currently, it has an average survival of less than 10 months.
Scientific research indicates medical cannabis and cannabinoids could become key therapy in modern neuro-oncology; however, further studies are needed to establish outcomes and dosage.
Opioids and fentanyl driving a crisis in recent years, with the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating the public’s abuse of the drug. The crisis has also become a major U.S. foreign policy issue. Massive lawsuits have been filling the courts due to the addictive and damaging nature of some opioids and patients have been left in shambles. Now, data shows medical marijuana reduces opioid use.
A new study from New York State and CUNY researchers suggests receiving medical cannabis for thirty days or more may help patients on long-term opioid treatment to lower their dose over time.
Another study conducted by the American Medical Association showed positive data. The study, published in JAMA Oncology, analyzed the results of thousands of patients with different types of cancer. ound an association between receiving medical cannabis for chronic pain for a longer duration and a reduction in prescription opioid dosages among patients on long-term opioid therapy. Patients who were on higher baseline dosages of prescription opioids when they started receiving medical cannabis experienced larger reductions in opioid dosages.
Researchers explained that the study was conducted in order to explore the links that exist between marijuana legalization and opioid use. They concluded that medical marijuana curbed opioid use and provided an alternate route for treatment.
“Findings of this cross-sectional study suggest that medical marijuana legalization implemented from 2012 to 2017 was associated with a lower rate of opioid dispensing and pain-related hospital events among some adults receiving treatment for newly diagnosed cancer,” they wrote.
“The nature of these associations and their implications for patient safety and quality of life need to be further investigated,” researchers added.
Medical marijuana has less of an impact on the body and mind. Cannabis can be an effective treatment for pain, greatly reduces the chance of dependence, and eliminates the risk of fatal overdose compared to opioid-based medications. Medical cannabis patients report that cannabis is just as effective, if not more, than opioid-based medications for pain.
With medical marijuana available in 40 states, this is indeed good news for most patients.