One of the first steps cancer patients take once they receive the news that they have been diagnosed is set up a chemotherapy appointment. Chemotherapy is one of the strongest medication options used to help fight the spread if cancer. Even so, it is also known that chemotherapy comes with devastating side effects on the patient’s body.
The drugs administered are strong enough to fight cancer cells, which can multiply at an alarming rate. Though they may have the power to fight again stone of the deadliest disease we have had to face, said drugs can affect patience adversely, depending on their general status in terms of health, age and type of therapy being used.
More about how chemotherapy affects your body
Drugs used in chemotherapy affect patients in different ways, some with very specific side effects. Most treatments do not offer noticeable improvement due to the overpowering consequences.
Common side effects include:
- Muscle pain
- Headaches
- Stomach pain
- Pain as result of harmful effects of the drugs to the nerves such as numbness, burning sensation and shooting pains which mostly occur in the fingers and toes
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea and vomiting
- Digestive problems
- Mouth sores
- Sore muscles and loss of coordination
- Depression and anxiety
- Sexual dysfunction
Cannabis and chemotherapy effects
For thousands of years now, cannabis has been known to have medicinal effects. It’s medicinal benefits only fell off the radar in the 1940s due to a slander campaign that rendered the plant unusable. Even so, jurisdictions are slowly waking up to the numerous uses of marijuana and making it accessible for people who need it for medicinal use.
To a patient with cancer, cannabis can help deal with a lot of the side effects accompanying chemotherapy. Cannabis has been shown to be a good combatant of effects such as;
- Nausea induced by chemotherapy
- Pain
- Anorexia
- Vomiting
- Depression
- Insomnia
Incidentally, cannabis happens to be the only antiemetic that works for some patients even though it is less powerful than anything you will find in a drugstore. It has also been identified as the only antiemetic for boosting appetite and preventing the wasting away of cancer patients. A quantitative systematic review by Tramer MR et.al (2001) affirmed that position.
Inhaled cannabis is the best form of administration in cancer. More research is being conducted to establish the benefits of cannabis for neuropathy induced by cancer.
Exciting new findings about the use of cannabis for treatment of cancer have shown cannabinoids to be capable of regulating tumor growth, migration, apoptosis and neoangiogenesis for a number of cancer types.
In another study by Pertwee RG et.al (2010), the level of efficacy of marijuana for cancer treatment is hypothesized to depend on the number of CB1and CB2 receptors. These are the cannabinoid receptors in the body. The expression of these receptors increases the effectiveness of cannabinoids in treatment.
These are defining times in the medical field, with researchers finding new ways of applying cannabinoid-based drugs in treatment. The legalization of marijuana in 28 states over the last decade has made this movement stronger.
Our medical marijuana doctor can help you acquire a recommendation to obtain legal marijuana from one of Florida’s dispensaries. If you are dealing with cancer, chemotherapy and its associated side effects consider taking advantage of the therapeutic benefits of medical marijuana.
Care Wellness Center serves the residents of Margate, Coconut Creek, Coral Springs, Tamarac, Parkland, Boca Raton, and Pompano Beach. Call today at 954-586-8088 to schedule an appointment with the Marijuana Doctor.
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