CANNAHealthcare Magazine Volume 4, 1st Quarter, 2018 | Page 48

In The Clinic

48

Dear Nurse Susan,

My mother is battling cancer. She has lost 35lbs and now weighs less than 100 pounds. Watching this illness ravage her body has been devastating for our family. She has had chemotherapy and radiation, and it made her so sick. I heard that cannabis actually kills cancer. Is cannabis really a treatment for cancer, or just a way to control the nausea, vomiting, pain and lack of appetite from chemotherapy? I want so badly to help her in any way that I can. Thanks, - Heartbroken

Is Cannabis a Treatment for Cancer?

I am so sorry to hear about your mother’s illness. Unfortunately, cancer has become so prevalent that it has an impact on most people: either they have been diagnosed, or they know someone who has been diagnosed.

Traditional cancer treatments are very difficult to endure and are toxic to our normal cells as well as the cancer cells. It is possible to die from the treatment for cancer, and not the actual disease. Therefore, it is imperative to know all the tools and options available in this fight for life. This is a huge subject, so I will touch on several topics and provide resources for additional education and guidance. To really understand how

cannabis fights cancer, its important to know how our Endo-cannabinoid System (ECS) works. Here is the link to a short but informative video on the ECS:

Originally, cannabinoids (compounds in the cannabis plant (phytocannabinoids), as well as those produced in our bodies (endocannabinoids) were used to manage wasting, nausea/vomiting, and pain for cancer and HIV patients. When it was discovered that cannabinoids were targeting and killing cancer cells, interest in the anticarcinogenic properties of cannabinoids surged. Since the discovery of the ECS in 1996, several cannabinoids have been shown to exert anti-proliferative, and pro-apoptotic (programmed cell death) effects and inhibit cancer cell migration, adhesion, metastasis, and invasion in several cancer types including glioma, lung,

thyroid, lymphoma, skin, pancreas,

uterus, breast, prostate and colorectal carcinoma.

Nurse's STATION

With

Susan Marks RN BS PHN

CANNABASICS -THE ENDOCANNABINOID SYSTEM