medical marijuana and cancer

there is much that i dont know about cancer

through personal experience however there is much that i do know

i do know what a cancer patient goes through from diagnosis to death as i have witnessed it several times

each cancer is different, each one affects the person differently

on top of that each chemotherapy drug is different, causing different side effects

each patients situation is unique


from my personal experience i have found that chemotherapy can be very helpful at the same time being very deadly


before chemotherapy ever takes place, starting with the diagnosis many people are stricken with severe fear, depression, and anxiety

these 3 things are 3 very serious things, very hard things for a person who is facing a life and death situation, these things make treatment harder and make living with the disease that much harder

medical marijuana through responsible use can help with these symptoms


after the initial diagnosis, treatment begins, the typical treatments currently used are chemotherapy and/or radiation, along with other "natural" "cures" or "treatments"

can chemotherapy alone cure cancer, the commonly accepted answer is no as there is always the potential for it to come back even with chemotherapy (depending on the type of cancer)

one of the factors of whether or not treatment will work, is how fast the disease is spreading

we now know there is a chemical among the many chemicals in marijuana that has the potential to slow cancer growth in select cancers

with future research and development it is reasonable to believe that we can find a possible cure, or at least a way to isolate the chemical to use as a medicine to slow cancer growth


during chemotherapy the body is attacked on all levels, many times leaving the person nauseous tired and confused


many times they are tired from lack of nutrition, depression and low blood cell counts

marijuana can help with this, its use can help with the nausea, it will allow the patient to have a better diet allowing the body to more easily recover from the chemotherapy effects


currently if you take a poll of people, you will hear over and over again that its the chemotherapy and treatments that kill the person, not the disease itself, it has its roots in truth but with new chemotherapy medicines that is not entirely true anymore


by using a combination of treatments including chemotherapy and other medicines along with marijuana we can reasonably expect to not only improve the quality of life the person with cancer is facing, but through future research and development it is reasonable to expect that we can at least slow the progression of the disease long enough for our current medicines to work, that is if we dont just find the cure 1st




all of the above is just my opinion on the matter, i saw how and why people have died from cancer, i see how many could have benefited by medical marijuana use

some would have only experienced a higher quality of life

others through increased nutrition, less depression and anxiety, and improved bodily functions through the ability of exercise due to better nutrition could actually have had their lives prolonged in addition to the quality becoming better


there are many ways medical marijuana can help cancer patients right now, with increased legalization and further research and development the future can be bright for people suffering, but none of that future will be possible without legalization, and that will only come by people stifling old stigma and propaganda

educate yourself, save the world

it may sound corny, but its true




sorry edited again for some grammar and spelling mistakes

[edit on 30-11-2009 by Dramey]

*raises hand*

Someone in my family passed away from cancer. The marijuana he was prescribed did not help with his nausea or other symptoms from the chemotherapy.

So I'm sure it works for some people. Didn't work in this case.

Originally posted by ravenshadow13
*raises hand*

Someone in my family passed away from cancer. The marijuana he was prescribed did not help with his nausea or other symptoms from the chemotherapy.

So I'm sure it works for some people. Didn't work in this case.

i am sorry to hear it did not work

i do want to make it clear that it does only work for some

right now it is believed that among the "anti-nausea" medication and steroids used to treat nausea, medical marijuana is the best we have available

even the best we have available is not enough however

also many factors can contribute to whether or not it will work

this can range from the type of chemotherapy being used

to the type of medical marijuana used, that is the other reason we need further research and development

there are 100s of strains of marijuana available

one person may have used one strain, and it helped

another may use another strain and see no relief

that is why this is just the beginning and we need much more research and development in order to have a true medicine


unfortunately the people i know who died, due to legal reasons never even had the option to try any type of medical marijuana

only through legalization and trial and error will we find the way to help all


in addition to all of that, while is has showed benefits of some cancers, it has showed no benefits in other cancers, without research, we will never know fully which cancers those are

just to give people an idea who may not be familiar

just with lung cancer alone i believe there are 4-5 different types between small cell lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and even those have their own categories of each i believe

it will take a lot of study to find out which strain of medical marijuana affects which strain of cancer a patient may have

I guess it's best for cancer sufferers to try it.

If they find it helps, keep taking it.

Originally posted by Dramey

Originally posted by ravenshadow13
*raises hand*

Someone in my family passed away from cancer. The marijuana he was prescribed did not help with his nausea or other symptoms from the chemotherapy.

So I'm sure it works for some people. Didn't work in this case.

i am sorry to hear it did not work

i do want to make it clear that it does only work for some

right now it is believed that among the "anti-nausea" medication and steroids used to treat nausea, medical marijuana is the best we have available

even the best we have available is not enough however

also many factors can contribute to whether or not it will work

this can range from the type of chemotherapy being used

to the type of medical marijuana used, that is the other reason we need further research and development

there are 100s of strains of marijuana available

one person may have used one strain, and it helped

another may use another strain and see no relief

that is why this is just the beginning and we need much more research and development in order to have a true medicine


unfortunately the people i know who died, due to legal reasons never even had the option to try any type of medical marijuana

only through legalization and trial and error will we find the way to help all


in addition to all of that, while is has showed benefits of some cancers, it has showed no benefits in other cancers, without research, we will never know fully which cancers those are

just to give people an idea who may not be familiar

just with lung cancer alone i believe there are 4-5 different types between small cell lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and even those have their own categories of each i believe

it will take a lot of study to find out which strain of medical marijuana affects which strain of cancer a patient may have

The modern "anti-nausea" medications can run $30,000 a month

thats real-

reply to post by Janky Red


I've taken some before, not for chemotherapy but for something else, and it was not that expensive. Maybe without insurance. But my insurance covered it.

I understand that not everyone has insurance, but really. And if they make marijuana legal and people have to buy it to help cure their symptoms, it could easily be that expensive.

Originally posted by Janky Red



The modern "anti-nausea" medications can run $30,000 a month

thats real-

i am not fully sure what side you are on by using that statement

not sure whether you are saying that because they are $30,000 a month that they really work

or

you are talking about the extremely high cost of modern medicine compared to the relatively low cost of medical marijuana that scientists say can work just as effective if not more effective in treating nausea


i would sure hope if they are $30,000 a month that they really work though

[edit on 30-11-2009 by Dramey]

Originally posted by ravenshadow13
reply to post by Janky Red

 

I've taken some before, not for chemotherapy but for something else, and it was not that expensive. Maybe without insurance. But my insurance covered it.

I understand that not everyone has insurance, but really. And if they make marijuana legal and people have to buy it to help cure their symptoms, it could easily be that expensive.

if they make medical marijuana legal it would become cheaper for the medical marijuana user to access their medicine

it would also provide tax income for the state/federal governments

legalizing marijuana medically would allow for larger legal grow operations allowing for higher quality control, cheaper growing costs, cheaper marketing costs, packaging costs, transportation costs, i could really go all day on the amount of reasons it would be relatively cheaper if legalized

not even to mention the fact there wouldnt be the cost of getting caught and charged anymore which has ruined many lives

it would be cheaper on a federal/social level as we would spend less money on incarceration and everything else we spend tax payer money on in order to keep it illegal

a large amount of money is spent to keep marijuana completely illegal

if you medicalize it, you industrialize it

now you turned something you were losing money on into something you are making money on, stimulating an economy which has been in a severe depression

on top of that you take the money away from illegal entities that are now profiteering in the growing/transporting/selling of the drug worldwide


id imagine with all of the money saved from not spending the cash to keep the substance illegal, you could probably afford to give all sick patients free medical marijuana

If my Mom and Dad would have smoked pot, their last days would have been better. As it was to be, they were both in hospice and got the drugs they needed to pass sooner than later. Morphine worked for them, and that's what they chose, as well as what I choose for myseslf when the time comes.

Eventually, we start to withdraw from life. I hope you don't give up. I hope to enjoy retirement, but we never know.

Wishing you the best, whatever happends.

DF

Cancer is a painful awful thing and those who suffer from it or any other painful or stress inducing ailment should be allowed to use marijuana.


It should just be completely legal so it can generate BILLIONS of dollars but that needs to well thought out beforehand.

it may or may not help, depending on the individual patient and the type of cancer/ prgress of the growth/ treatment.

despite i'm not fond of it myself, i have to acknowledge, that there are undoubtedly benefits from marijuana. eg, a friend of mine described how marijuana helps a close friend who suffers from ms to calm the body and ease the pain. but it is not a cure by itself.

keep well,
bertrand

I used to be a staunch advocate of marijuana but lately i have come to the conclusion that the stuff is no good and just a way for people to mask the problems. There is evidence that ultra high doses can cure cancer, i.e. Rick Simpson, but i believe a change in lifestyle and diet are much safer and probably a lot easier on the body. Curing cancer is gonna do you no good if you keep on with the destructive habits that ultimately cause it.

The only place marijuana has in our society is for textile manufacture and possibly pain relieve in extreme cases (unforeseen injuries etc.)

My malignant Brain Tumour returned in 2007 as the most aggresive for of Tumour, I was given months to live. I had a lot of chemotherapy at the time, which could have been a lot worse.

I came across this ariticle regarding a study into my type of Tumour and Marijauna

news.bbc.co.uk...

I got in touch with the researcher of this study and i email him updates of how i'm getting on. well it's 3 years longer than I thought

Ofcourse, marijuana is Illegal in the UK so I would never advise anyone to take cannibis.

Originally posted by Rawhemp
I used to be a staunch advocate of marijuana but lately i have come to the conclusion that the stuff is no good and just a way for people to mask the problems. There is evidence that ultra high doses can cure cancer, i.e. Rick Simpson, but i believe a change in lifestyle and diet are much safer and probably a lot easier on the body. Curing cancer is gonna do you no good if you keep on with the destructive habits that ultimately cause it.

The only place marijuana has in our society is for textile manufacture and possibly pain relieve in extreme cases (unforeseen injuries etc.)

if you consider the fear and negative thinking as one obstacle on the way to healing, marijuana might do the trick in small dosage. i have no idea about the amount of marijuana needed to have an effect on the tumor cells, but i recall that my friend described the dosis of thc in case of the ms patient as relatively low. true, i can't mix apples with pears...

another example is a friend of mine who faught breast cancer almost entirely with a change of habits (diet= raw food, lifestyle) in combination with psychological/ spiritual training. it worked for her, but i'm aware, that every cancer is different. and that leads me back to the original question: it may or may not help...

off topic: if it comes to hemp as such. with the law of dupont hemp was excluded from fabric production and fashion industries. appaerently it was due to the 'drug' element in it, but since there is hemp without thc, it is obvious that this was only to keep dupont's monopol. i know several hemp designers and i love the clothes. hemp is an all-in-one goody. clothes, strings, fuel, milk...

greetz,
bertrand

Originally posted by bertand cantat
it may or may not help, depending on the individual patient and the type of cancer/ prgress of the growth/ treatment.

despite i'm not fond of it myself, i have to acknowledge, that there are undoubtedly benefits from marijuana. eg, a friend of mine described how marijuana helps a close friend who suffers from ms to calm the body and ease the pain. but it is not a cure by itself.

keep well,
bertrand

i am happy to read that you have a open mind regarding the subject

it indeed can help with ms and many other illnesses

you acknowledge that with current delivery techniques and current knowledge medical marijuana is only a treatment and not a cure

that can be said for hundreds if not thousands of drugs on the market

we are not a preventative society here in the USA, we are a treatment society


also you are correct at the moment about it not being a cure

however that could change with the proper research and development, like someone else referred to there are several chemicals in each strain of marijuana, it will take a long time after legalization to thoroughly test each and every one and see which illnesses each effects

with the proper research and development, it is very reasonable that we can create a cure for many different things from the various chemicals created by the various strains

that is why this subject is so important, we need to stand up to the politicians and make them realize we want them to take this situation as serious as it deserves to be

Originally posted by Rawhemp
I used to be a staunch advocate of marijuana but lately i have come to the conclusion that the stuff is no good and just a way for people to mask the problems. There is evidence that ultra high doses can cure cancer, i.e. Rick Simpson, but i believe a change in lifestyle and diet are much safer and probably a lot easier on the body. Curing cancer is gonna do you no good if you keep on with the destructive habits that ultimately cause it.

The only place marijuana has in our society is for textile manufacture and possibly pain relieve in extreme cases (unforeseen injuries etc.)

there is some debate around the rick simpson situation as far as i know

as far as the healthy living and better eating habits and living a better lifestyle

you are absolutely correct

what you are missing however is that fact that all of those things can be aided by medical marijuana in severely ill patients

its hard for a person to be active when they are overcome with depression and anxiety

it is hard for a person to be active when they cant eat due to side effects of medicines, or effects of diseases

marijuana can potentially treat those things allowing the person to have the opportunity to make more out of their life


you also say curing cancer will do no good if we continue with destructive habits

i agree with you we need to change the habits, but i disagree with you about curing cancer, no matter what else happens, if we can find some cure for cancer, no matter how bad our habits are, this world will be better off with a cure for cancer

you also say there is no place for medical marijuana except for the textile industry and possibly pain relief in extreme cases

i also disagree with that statement

yes it has a great place in the textile industry, but thats hemp not medical marijuana, the 2 are very different

on top of that, while marijuana is a great substance for pain relief, especially when compared to the severe negative side effects of the other modern day pain relievers, including acetaminophen, it also has incredible potential for many other situations as well


thats all without any further research and development, there are many medical conditions it has the potential to help right now today

www.cannabismd.net...

i linked to this previous in another post i believe but its relevant to your post here

it provides a list of only some of the things marijuana can help treat today

so there are many areas where medical marijuana deserves to be used

on top of that, like i have said and will say many more times, with further research and development the sky is the limit for the potential of medical marijuana

like you said, right now we believe that with certain doses of specific strains of marijuana used in specific types of cancers it can slow growth or actually kill it

with further research and development we can isolate that naturally occurring chemical and turn it into a separate medicine or create a strain specific to producing that chemical for use against cancer as a cure


you refer to it as masking the problem as if thats a bad thing

but if i could mask the problems of a ms sufferer, or end term cancer patient for even 1 minute a day, medical marijuana use would be worth it to provide that person with even one minute of escape

you may want to give "masking the problems" a little more credit in the treatment problem

Originally posted by woodwardjnr
My malignant Brain Tumour returned in 2007 as the most aggresive for of Tumour, I was given months to live. I had a lot of chemotherapy at the time, which could have been a lot worse.

I came across this ariticle regarding a study into my type of Tumour and Marijauna

news.bbc.co.uk...

I got in touch with the researcher of this study and i email him updates of how i'm getting on. well it's 3 years longer than I thought

Ofcourse, marijuana is Illegal in the UK so I would never advise anyone to take cannibis.

i am happy to hear of your success and i wish you the best continued success

hopefully with your help and others like you, the researcher can gain the information and power needed to provide this knowledge with the world

reply to post by woodwardjnr


after replying and after reading the link you provided it really made me intrigued


when looking at marijuana propaganda and common beliefs, many times you hear about how it affects your memory, your brain, etc

it is extremely interesting to hear and read that the same substance people say destroys your brain actually saves it

i wasnt familiar with the way it worked with brain tumors, i wish i wouldve known as my dad developed a metastatic brain tumor from small cell lung cancer, maybe it couldve helped, maybe not

i also find it interesting that according to some studies it doesnt kill brain cells, it can actually help the body and brain generate the growth of new cells, in addition to helping treat plaque build up on the brains of Alzheimer's patients


its truly remarkable this substance has so much potential when only smoked, imagination can not even perceive the possibilities of medical marijuana once it has had the proper research and development