Medical Marijuana Treatment For Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients

By PJ Hamel, Health Guide Tuesday, November 20, 2007

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If you have breast cancer, you may have considered the use of “medical marijuana” at some point during your chemo treatment. Smoking marijuana has provided some women with relief from the nausea and vomiting that can accompany chemo, relief that the range of normal side effect drugs weren...

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Bruce Mirken

11/20/07 12:42pm

It is important to note that this new study is just one more in a very long line of studies showing that marijuana's unique, active components -- known as cannabinoids -- have antitumor effects in a variety of malignancies, including cancers of the breast, lung and brain. Cannabinoids that have shown anticancer activity include CBD, THC (the component responsible for marijuana's "high") and several others.

Spanish researcher Manuel Guzman published an excellent review of this area a few years ago in the journal Nature Reviews: Cancer (Cannabinoids: potential anticancer agents. Nat Rev Cancer. 2003 Oct;3(10):745-55. R).

A most interesting recent study looked at a variety of plant cannabinoids in relation to breast carcinoma, and found considerable antitumor activity: Ligresti A. et al. Antitumor activity of plant cannabinoids with emphasis on the effect of cannabidiol on human breast carcinoma. 1: J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2006 Sep;318(3):1375-87. Epub 2006 May 25.

While whole marijuana has not been tested as an anticancer drug, it is striking that in several large studies, regular marijuana smokers actually had slightly lower rates of lung and other smoking-related cancers than nonsmokers. The possibility that the plant in its natural form could prove useful to cancer patients beyond its well-known ability to relieve nausea and vomiting should not be discounted, and deserves further study.

One final note: Anyone considering use of marijuana for medicinal purposes (or indeed any purpose) should investigate vaporization, which allows the benefits of inhalation (fast action, easy dose adjustment) without the tars and other irritants in smoke.

--Bruce Mirken, director of communications, Marijuana Policy Project, www.mpp.org

kay

3/ 2/08 6:18pm

If you have cancer or know someone who does please watch "Run From The Cure" The Rick Simpson story.Sorry I don't have the link for it.It's a documentary about using hemp oil(most people call it hash oil)for curing cancer.It's real people with real stories.

suzanne

9/10/08 12:35pm

my name is suzanne and i was diagnosed with breast cancer and a user of marijuana since the age of i0 on and of im 40 years old and i have 2 children 18 year old and 10. ive done 8 treatments of chemo and had surgery they only took out where the tumour was and a ganglion under the arm they want me to take a pill for 5 years they will be side effects and i already have bad mood swings this is why i smoke my marijuana to relax so i descided not to take the pills to keep using what i normally use i dont know if im going to be ok or not im supposed to do radiation for 25 days and to me my radiation is what i smoke and also to let you know i used to smoke ciggarettes during my teenage years its been 18 yrs i dont smoke cigarettes i still smoke my marijuana. so now im looking for information on people with breast cancer and smokes marijuana without tabacco and hasnt done radiation and is not taking the pill for 5 years. with all this said i also wanted to let you know if you need someone to be a ginea pig for marijuana to be legallized for medical reasons please call me and ill be grateful for this. you can also email me if cant reach by phone. thank you for your time suzanne

PJ Hamel, Health Guide

9/10/08 9:57pm

Suzanne, you might want to reconsider the radiation; having a lumpectomy without radiation is kind of only going halfway with the recommended treatment. And as for the tamoxifen (I assume that's the pill you're talking about), what if you at least gave it a try? Then if you had side effects you could always stop. But you might not get any side effects at all, and would really be decreasing your risk for a recurrence... something to think about, anyway. Good luck - PJH

Andrewwilliam123

9/16/08 5:11pm

I am new to this post and I am really impressing.
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Andrew William

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Craig

8/ 1/10 9:33am

http://www.phoenixtears.ca/

What the Pharmaceutical Companies and Big Government don't want YOU to know..We are Organic beings not synthetic automatons. Hemp has been used Medicinally for thousands of years. Go to the Web site listed above for a very informative lesson on healing yourself without the use of Chemo/ Prescription drugs.

PJ Hamel, Health Guide

8/ 1/10 7:35pm

Craig, thanks for connecting here. For myself, I'd rely on proven science; but everyone's entitled to his/her opinion, especially where it regards our own bodies. Good luck - PJH

Medical Marijuana Treatment For Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients

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