 Researchers from the Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse released results of a recent study focused on how patients with advanced cancer responded to medical cannabis treatment.
The researchers found that advanced cancer patients who used medical cannabis had positive effects. The report said, “For patients who took at least one dose of medical marijuana, 48.14% experienced an improvement in pain, 44.95% used fewer opioids, and 85.11% had an improvement in at least one symptom. Adverse effects were low at 3.72%.” In another recent study out of Israel, researchers found that cannabis was associated with reduction in cancer symptoms, reduction of prescription drug consumption, and better quality of life. Almost half of the cancer patients who finished the trials no longer needed painkillers. The study also found that the cannabis was well tolerated and safe. In addition to treating symptoms of cancer itself, cannabis also helps with treating the side effects of cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation. These harsh treatments can cause nausea, poor appetite, pain, and difficulty sleeping, among other things. Cannabis has been shown to greatly improve these side effects. In one laboratory study, cancer researcher Dr. Matt Dun worked together with Australian Natural Therapeutics Group and they found that a cannabis variety with under 1% THC but also having a very high CBD percentage was effective for killing cancer cells. Dr. Dun said this variety, “potentially makes it an ideal complementary therapy to combine with other anti-cancer compounds.” The American Cancer Society acknowledges that “scientists reported that THC and other cannabinoids such as CBD slow growth and/or cause death in certain types of cancer cells growing in lab dishes. Some animal studies also suggest certain cannabinoids may slow growth and reduce spread of some forms of cancer. There have been some early clinical trials of cannabinoids in treating cancer in humans and more studies are planned. While the studies so far have shown that cannabinoids can be safe in treating cancer, they do not show that they help control or cure the disease.” Comments are closed.
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