Patients with cancer need different types of help, because in addition to the treatment itself, it is important to alleviate their condition as much as possible. There is also an ongoing research effort to find new and effective ways to fight cancerous tumours. In this sense, the prospect of harnessing the amazing healing properties of cannabis is far from being explored. Although their use is already appreciated by patients in many countries, including Germany. Medical cannabis was officially legalised in our country in 2017, while in Israel, for example, doctors have been very successful in treating and supporting cancer patients since 1999.
It is also legal in some states in the USA, Canada and a number of other countries to purchase or prescribe medicines containing cannabinoids without restriction. The main use of medical cannabis is to alleviate the serious condition of cancer patients. It is used to reduce the negative effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Cannabinoids can also be used to reduce pain, control vomiting and nausea, improve appetite, and eliminate insomnia. In other words, to improve the quality of life of the patient. But the results of recent studies are encouraging in terms of the possibility of using medical cannabis to treat cancerous tumours. Let's learn more about this, as well as the already traditional use of cannabis's healing properties in cancer therapy.
Cannabis against cancer
Today, medical cannabis in the treatment of cancer is primarily used to
- Relieve patients' condition and reduce pain.
- Eliminate or reduce the symptoms of neuropathy, which develops as a complication of chemotherapy. Weakness in the body, a situation where limbs go numb or tingle sensation is associated with nerve damage during cancer therapy.
- Relieve side effects of chemotherapy such as vomiting and nausea.
- Improve your appetite.
But a number of studies conclusively prove that the use of medical cannabis can slow or even stop the growth of cancer cells. Research is still ongoing, so it is not yet possible to state definitively such healing powers of medicinal cannabinoid-containing products. However, it is important to know that the study of biologically active ingredients in cannabis is still far from complete. Cannabinoids such as CBD and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are well known. So there may be amazing discoveries ahead for scientists and for patients to obtain effective treatments for cancer pathologies.
Some recent findings on the effects of medical cannabis use on malignant tumours
The results of a number of studies, such as those conducted by the US National Cancer Institute, have shown the following
- In animal experiments, cannabinoids slowed or completely stopped the growth of malignant tumours. Such biologically active components inhibited cancer cells and actually killed them by blocking the development of blood vessels, without which they simply could not grow. The cancerous cells were not subjected to such destructive effects.
- Cannabinoids can inhibit the development of inflammatory processes in the colon, which are potentially dangerous as a catalyst for cancerous tumours.
- Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol has been effective in several cases in damaging or killing tumour cells that form in liver cancer. This cannabinoid is also capable of inhibiting the growth of tumour cells in lung and breast cancer.
- Experiments on animals with metastatic breast cancer have shown the effectiveness of cannabinoids in slowing the rate of growth and metastasis of malignant neoplasms.
