What is Cancer?

Cancer is the abnormal proliferation of cells that causes them to grow and spread in ways that they shouldn’t. It occurs when various genes at the cellular level are altered; specifically, the genes that regulate cell growth. The causes of this alteration and subsequent cancer are numerous. As a result of this change, a mass of cells called a tumor forms. To diagnose a malignant (cancerous) tumor, six criteria must be met:

1. Cell growth and division without the proper signals.
2. Continuous growth and division in spite of contrary signals.
3. Avoidance of programmed cell death.
4. Limitless number of cell divisions.
5. Promotion of blood vessel construction.
6. Invasion of tissue and formation of metastases (the tumor spreads to organs without being connected to it).

Roughly 90% of all cancers are caused by environmental factors, with the remaining 10% due to inherited genetics. In other words, it is largely an avoidable disease if you live a healthy lifestyle.

What Causes Cancer?

Substances we come into contact with that cause the disease or are linked to it, are called carcinogens. Exposure to these chemicals must be avoided whenever possible to decrease your chances of developing cancer. Tobacco smoke is perhaps the most well-known of cancer-causing agents, and it contains over 50 carcinogens.

It is responsible for some different types of cancer, and causes the vast majority of lung cancers at 90%. Alcohol is also associated with a significant number of cancers; particularly those of the liver and digestive tract. As such, alcohol should only be used in moderation and very responsibly.

Diet and lack of exercise are also huge contributors to getting cancer in the developed world. In fact, obesity as a result of diet and lack of physical activity accounts for the majority of cancer deaths in the world at roughly 35%. While having excess body weight contributes to cancer risk in itself, a lack of exercise compounds this risk due to its negative effects on the immune system and endocrine (hormone) system. Additionally, specific types of food are linked to specific cancers in themselves and should be avoided in excess. For example, a high-salt diet is linked to gastric cancer.

Infectious diseases can also cause the disease, though this is a much more common cause in developing nations compared to developed ones. Viruses such as the Epstein-Barr virus and leukemia are only a fraction of diseases that can lead to cancer. Radiation exposure and inherited genes are other less common though still significant causes of cancer.

What are the Symptoms of Cancer?

Depending on the size, location, and progression of the disease, the signs and symptoms may vary greatly. At the site of cancer itself, the most obvious sign is that of a lump or mass on the body that should not be there. For tumors that aren’t visible to the naked eye, such as in lung cancer, symptoms may include a cough and pneumonia. Cancer of the esophagus may cause difficulty swallowing, and so on. Due to how non-specific symptoms often are, cancer is easy to miss, and patients are often treated for diseases they do not have as a result of a misdiagnosis based on their symptoms.

Other ‘systemic’ symptoms may also indicate cancer in the body. These include:

• Unintentional weight loss.
• Fever.
• Fatigue.
• Changes in skin.

The most effective way to diagnose cancer is through early detection. Potential patients can go for regular screenings, which are common for cancers like cervical, colorectal, and breast cancer. A diagnosis is confirmed through various medical imaging devices and, at last, a biopsy of the affected site. Once a diagnosis has been made, treatment can begin.

Traditional Cancer Treatment

Cancer is a mostly curable disease, and its treatment varies widely on an individual basis. There are, unfortunately, types of cancer that cannot be treated.  The treatment options chosen depend on the location of the disease, its type, and its progression. We’ll examine common treatment methods in fighting cancer.

The most well known treatment is chemotherapy.  It is the administration of drugs that are toxic to cells, and the aim of this course of action is to kill those cells which are cancerous in order to stop the disease from progressing. Chemotherapy can be “targeted,” meaning that it only kills specific types of cells, and leaves normal, healthy ones alone. However, targeted chemotherapy does not exist for all types of cancers. In other words, non-targeted chemotherapy is the administration of drugs that are toxic to all cells, resulting in a significant toll taken on the body. The symptoms of chemotherapy vary based on the specific drugs used, but some common side effects are:

• Reduced immune function.
• Anemia.
• Fatigue.
• Nausea and vomiting.
• Hair loss.
• Infertility.
• Neuropathy (nerve pain).
• Organ damage.

Another treatment path involves radiation or the transmission of energy. The goal of radiation therapy is to affect the cancerous tissue with so much energy that its DNA is disrupted, and it dies. This energy can also damage healthy tissue, which makes it crucial that the rest of the body is protected. With such a destructive form of treatment, radiation therapy can often come with a host of adverse side effects of its own, many of which are similar to those experienced by patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Surgery treatment involves the removal of cancerous tissue via surgery. It is also common and sometimes sufficient to remove all of the cancerous tissue by itself. This solution is most sought-after if available, but many cancers cannot be fully removed by surgery alone. As such, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are commonly used. In treating these side effects, as well as cancer itself, cannabis has been shown to be an effective, natural medication.

Cannabis as Cancer Symptom Management

A study examined the effectiveness of cannabis-based medications in reducing vomiting in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The researchers made a few astounding discoveries.

Dronabinol, a particular cannabis-based medication, is more effective at reducing the incidence of vomiting in patients, than “conventional” drugs that aim to accomplish the same goal. The researchers also note that cannabis had some beneficial side effects: the ‘high’ sensation helped with depression, and the drug-induced sleepiness and sedation. All of these effects are beneficial to a patient suffering from the effects of chemotherapy.

When the subjects of the study were asked about which anti-vomiting drug they preferred, most patients chose the cannabis treatment. The researchers hypothesize that this was because nausea and vomiting are the most uncomfortable side effects of the chemotherapy process. Cannabis was most effective at treating those particular symptoms.

Lastly, the researchers make the point that the mechanism by which cannabis stops vomiting is distinct from the other anti-vomiting medicines. This is an important point because some medications react differently to the body than others. Because cannabis interacts differently, it may be the best option available for these patients in providing a safe alternative.

Therapeutic Effects of Cannabis

Researchers examined various therapeutic aspects of the cannabis plant, and particularly how it affects cancer patients. They noted that using cannabis increases both calorie intake and frequency of eating compared to a placebo. For cancer patients specifically, for whom maintaining a healthy body weight is often difficult, an improvement in appetite and body weight was also found when switching over to cannabis.

In the study, cannabis treatment was also a fairly potent pain reliever. Specifically, they state that it benefited those with cancer-related pain. Surprisingly, its strength was similar to codeine, but longer lasting. Codeine is an opioid, a powerful but highly-addictive class of drugs, which suggests that cannabis may be preferential due to a significantly reduced risk of addiction.

Additionally, the researchers examined the effects of another cannabis-based medication called nabilone. In patients experiencing anxiety, nabilone gave them dramatic improvements in their anxiety with minimal adverse side effects.Fighting with cancer takes a huge toll, both physically and mentally. As such, any mental health benefit included in the patient’s treatment plan is a huge bonus. The study finishes by noting that cannabis treatment is very safe in overdose. In other words, an ‘overdose’ on cannabis produces relatively harmless side effects when compared to the majority of other medications. This makes cannabis among the safest possible alternative to virtually any other medication and utilizing it minimizes the risk of further compromising the health of an already sick individual.

Cannabis as Cancer Prevention

One study cited a known link between chronic inflammation and the development of cancer. It states that reducing inflammation, is an effective way to reduce the likelihood of developing cancer. In the study, the researchers note that certain cannabinoids, have anti-inflammatory effects. As a result, cannabis treatment can be used not only to treat cancer, but prevent it from even developing. The best way to fight any disease is to avoid contracting it, and this exciting find makes cannabis treatment a potential candidate in a host of medications that ward off cancer.

Cannabis as Cancer Fighter

A 2012 study conducted on cannabis treatment and its relationship to cancer made a few interesting discoveries. In the paper, the researchers corroborate the studies mentioned throughout the article, noting cannabis’s ability to ease various symptoms patients struggle with. They also state that cannabinoids have anti-cancer effects. This turns cannabis into both a symptom-management medication and  a disease-fighting one as well. Cannabinoids inhibited tumor growth in the study both in vitro  (a test tube/petri dish) as well as in vivo ( a living organism). The study goes on to list the different types of cancers that cannabis’s intervention helped to inhibit, and the list is nine cancers long. The researchers suggest that more studies be done to get the full scope of what cancers that are treatable with cannabinoids.

Is Cannabis Smoke the Same as Tobacco Smoke?

On the subject of cancer and cannabis, some are worried that smoking cannabis poses the same or greater risk of cancer compared to cigarettes, A survey of thousands of studies was conducted in 2014 to see if smoking pot causes lung cancer. In their detailed analysis, the association between the cannabis smoking and lung cancer was found to be very weak. Further, the researchers say there is “little evidence” for an increased risk of lung cancer from habitual cannabis smoking.

An earlier study agrees. With the suggestive title, “Cannabis and tobacco smoke are not equally carcinogenic,” the researchers make a point that cannabis is way safer and healthier than cigarettes. The abstract concludes by stating that “…tobacco smoke, but not cannabis smoke, may result in lung cancer.” Clearly, smoking cannabis and smoking cigarettes do not have the same consequences, as the link between cancer and tobacco smoking is abundantly clear.

The Future of Cannabis Treatment for Cancer

Science is obviously supporting cannabis as an effective treatment for virtually all aspects of cancer. Cannabis treatment can prevent the disease from occurring, slow or stop it once it does occur, and effectively treat the symptoms associated with it. Fortunately, the opinion among experts is that more research should be done on the plant in light of these findings. The data suggests that we are on the cusp of discovering that cannabis and its extracts should be used for the majority of patients in at least some avenue of their treatment plan. Due to how innocuous and relatively harmless cannabis is, the prospect of replacing other more harmful medications with cannabis is an exciting one.

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At this moment in th United States, there are 25 states (including Washington D.C.) that have legalized medical cannabis. That number is likely to grow as more and more states consider making changes to their marijuana laws. Even though it hasn’t been legalized in every state, there’s been enough medical cannabis activity to see what the medical marijuana landscape looks like for certain health conditions.

There have been a couple of important surveys this year that have shed light on how medical marijuana is is used by patients. The first survey was conducted by Hello MD and it was published in January. This particular one was sent to 17,000 medical marijuana patients, but only 1,400 of them responded.

The second survey was published more recently by Marijuana Business Daily. It used data from patients in states that publicly release this kind of data, such as Arizona, New Jersey and Oregon to name a few.

Using these surveys, here are the health conditions most frequently being treated with medical cannabis.

Top 10 Health Conditions Treated With Medical Cannabis

1. Pain
2. Anxiety and Stress
3. Insomnia
4. Depression
5. Severe Nausea
6. Migraines
7. Arthritis
8. Cancer
9. PTSD
10. Epilepsy

There are tons of other conditions that are being treated, that wasn’t included in the list. These include Multiple Sclerosis, Glaucoma and Parkinson’s disease.

Issues Facing Medical Cannabis Patients

The surveys highlight a broad range of health conditions currently being treated with cannabis. Despite all this, there are a few challenges facing the medical marijuana community.

The most obvious one is that medical cannabis isn’t legal in every state. It depends on where you live. This is a reason why waves of people are moving to states where they can get medical cannabis. A term “marijuana refugees” have surfaced and refer to individuals who travel to places in search of medical marijuana.

The other big issue is that not all health conditions can be treated with cannabis. Most states with medical marijuana programs have limited lists of conditions that qualify for it.If your illness isn’t on the list, you simply won’t be able to use it.

The good news is that a lot of states have started adding conditions to their list of illnesses. An example would be New Jersey which added PTSD to its list of qualifying conditions during last month.

The fact, however, remains that most medical marijuana states haven’t made cannabis accessible to any and all health conditions. This limits the degree to which people can use cannabis for medical reasons.

Beyond all that, there are also restrictions that can make it challenging for researchers to study medical cannabis. And some states only let patients use particular types of medical cannabis products. In New York, for example, patients are not allowed to use smokable marijuana, and they can only get certain types of extracts.

The Point

As these patient surveys revealed, medical cannabis is currently being used to treat a wide raange of health conditions. There are still legal challenges if medical cannabis usage is to become more widespread.

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1. Marijuana slows and stops cancer cells from spreading.

Found in the study, published in the journal of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, it was found that Cannabidoil has the ability to stop cancer by turning off a gene called Id-1. In 2007, researchers at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, reported that CBD may prevent cancer from spreading. They used cannabidoil to experiment on breast cancer cells in the lab that had a high level of Id-1. The outcome was positive, the cells had decreased Id-1 expression, and they were less aggressive spreaders.

On another note, the American Association for Cancer Research has found that marijuana actually works to slow down tumor growth in the brain, breast, and lungs, considerately.

2. It prevents Alzheimer’s disease

A 2006 study led by Kim Janda of the Scripps Research Institute found out that THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, slows the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. THC slows the formation of amyloid plaques by blocking the enzyme in the brain that makes them. These plaques kill the brain cells, potentially leading to Alzheimer’s disease

3. Treats Glaucoma

Pot can be used to treat a condition known as glaucoma, which increases the pressure in the eyeball, injuring the optic nerve and causing loss of vision. The National Eye Institute has found that marijuana lowers the pressure inside the eye, “Studies in the early 1970s showed that marijuana, when smoked, lowered intraocular pressure (IOP) in people with normal pressure and those with glaucoma.”

The effects of using marijuana can prevent blindness

3.Relieves Arthritis

In 2011, researchers reported that cannabis reduces pain and inflammation, and promotes sleep, which may help relieve pain and discomfort for people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.

Researchers of the rheumatology units at several hospitals gave their patients Sativex, a cannabinoid-based pain-relieving medicine. After two weeks, they found that patients on Sativex had a significant reduction in pain, and improved sleep quality compared to placebo users.

4. Controls Epileptic seizure

A 2003 study has indicated that the use of marijuana can control epileptic seizures.

Rober J. DeLorenzo, of Virginia Commonwealth University, gave marijuana extract and synthetic marijuana to epileptic rats. The drugs stopped the seizures in about 10 hours. It is fond out that the THC controlled the seizures by binding the brain cells responsible for controlling excitability and regulating relaxation. These results were published in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

5. Eases the pain of multiple sclerosis

Cannabis works to stop the negative neurological effects and muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis. A study published in the Canadian Medical Association suggests that using marijuana may ease painful symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

Jody Cory Bloom studied 30 multiple sclerosis patients with painful contractions in their muscles. These patients didn’t respond to other medications, but after smoking marijuana for a few days, they reported that they were indeed in less pain. The THC bonds the receptors in the nerves and muscles to act as a pain reliever.

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