How Does Cannabis Help Chemotherapy Patients Exactly?

How Does Cannabis Help Chemotherapy Patients?

Cancer and chemotherapy are one of the most widely used conditions which cannabis can help treat and manage. Chemotherapy is commonly prescribed to treat late stage cancer patients, as a means of killing cancer cells. However, this procedure leaves cancer patients with debilitating and serious side effects because it also kills the good cells within the human body. There are also many cases reporting the inefficacy of chemotherapy, but cannabis is a natural medicine that can help alleviate these side effects while complementing cancer treatments.

Aptosis: In the medical community dozens of studies show that cannabis is effective in inducing aptosis, the process wherein cancer cells commit suicide in the body thereby improving the prognosis rate of patients with different forms cancers and tumors. Even medical associations focused on cancer treatments have already recognized the ability of the plant in treating cancer.
Nausea and vomiting: Certain chemotherapy as well as radiation drugs cause patients to experience nausea and vomiting. Depending on the strength of the medicine, doctors classify them as low, moderate, or at high risk for causing nausea in patients. Nausea caused by chemotherapy may be acute, which means that it occurs within 24 hours, delayed, or anticipatory. Chemotherapy causes the body to release serotonin and other chemicals found in the small intestine, which stimulates the vomiting center in the brain leading to nausea and vomiting. Several studies prove that cannabis can help patients reduce their risk for nausea.
Pain: It’s not uncommon for cancer patients to experience pain as a side effect of both the condition and chemotherapy. This kind of pain is usually nerve pain, experienced in the extremities (called peripheral neuropathy), or paresthesia, which is tingling in extremities. Some of the most common chemotherapy drugs including Cisplatin, Paclitaxel, or Vincristine Sulfate has been known to cause this pain. Cannabis has been proven to be a natural antidote to different forms of pain, including peripheral neuropathy or paresthesia.
Regulating sexual function: Even when cancer treatments are effective, many patients suffer from years of sexual dysfunction as a result of experiencing chemotherapy. Cannabis has a long history of being used as an aphrodisiac, from ancient times to present day.
Depression: Being diagnosed with cancer is enough to plunge patients into a severe state of depression, because of the sheer seriousness of this dreaded disease. Cannabis helps patients feel good no matter what the cause of their depression is, but it is truly effective in helping cancer patients improve their mood especially while undergoing chemotherapy.
Itching: Some forms of cancer, chemotherapy treatments, and cancer medications can cause patients to have uncomfortable and uncontrollable itching in different parts of the body. Topically applied cannabis as well as ingested forms of the plant can help patients alleviate itching.
Insomnia: Cancer patients also suffer from insomnia and other sleep problems. Although chemotherapy itself may not cause sleep problems, the drugs used can affect people differently. The stress posed by a cancer diagnosis can also cause anxiety and stress, leading to poor quality of sleep and insomnia. Lack of sleep slows down the healing process, but using cannabis can help treat this condition.
Lack of appetite: Chemotherapy patients tend to lose an unhealthy amount of weight, partially because of the nausea that it causes. Some chemotherapy drugs also cause people to lose their appetite. When cancer patients don’t have the appetite to consume heathy and nutritious food, this can slow down the healing process. Certain cannabis strains are beneficial for patients who suffer from lack of appetite.
Fatigue: Chemotherapy and cancer can cause patients to suffer from extreme fatigue, no matter what time of the day it is. Studies show that cannabis can help patients manage fatigue better, especially because specific strains are known to give an energizing and uplifting high.
Constipation: Some chemotherapy drugs, combined with a lack of appetite and nausea, may cause patients to suffer from gastrointestinal problems and bowel disorders such as constipation. Cannabis has been prescribed to help patients deal with gastrointestinal problems and it has shown to be effective especially because of the presence of endocannabinoid receptors in the stomach.