3 Ways Medical Marijuana Fights Breast Cancer
Today medical marijuana is used to treat a wide range of debilitating conditions and diseases such as: Parkinson’s, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, post-traumatic stress disorder, ALS/Lou Gehrig’s, Crohn’s, multiple sclerosis, and chronic pain. There is another medical use for cannabis that we will discuss today, and that is cancer. More specifically, breast cancer. Did you know the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in medical marijuana can inhibit the growth of cancer cells? Research and testing are ever-evolving to shed some light on the benefits medical marijuana can have on patients who suffer from breast cancer.
1. THC is an Anti-proliferative
One of the main reasons cancer is so difficult to kill, and so deadly, is because the cells of a cancer tumor do not stop reproducing unless they are removed or hindered in some way. The process by which cancer cells reproduce in called proliferation, and when their propagation is slowed down it is called anti-proliferation. While there are many different diet and lifestyle changes you can make to discourage cancer cells from spreading, studies on medical cannabis have shown that THC is actually capable of slowing down their reproduction rather effectively. The National Center for Biotechnology and Information published a comprehensive study in 2014 which determined that cannabinoids not only have a direct anti-proliferative effect on cancer tumors, but also an anti-migratory effect as well.
2. Medical Marijuana is Anti-metastatic
As stated earlier, cancer cells are capable of nearly inexhaustible growth when left unchecked. When cancer cells spread to other parts of the body, it is called metastasis. The process of metastasis is often responsible for some of the more dismal prognoses given to cancer patients. If you’ve ever heard the term “lymph node” at some point, it’s quite possible the context was cancer-related. The lymphatic system lends a hand to the immune by clearing protein and cellular debris that is too large to be collected by veins and capillaries. Ironically, cancer cells can escape from the main tumor and travel through the lymphatic system and spread to other parts of the body. This makes cancer increasingly difficult to treat, and radiation therapy is almost always the only solution once it has spread to the lymph nodes. Medical cannabis has been proven to be an effective anti-metastatic for many types of cancers including breast cancer.
3. Medical Marijuana is Anti-angiogenesis
Tumors, much like other tissues found in the human body, need blood to survive. They use a process called angiogenesis to take all the blood they need to survive, and build new tissues. In 2008, a research team in Spain, headed by Cristina Blázquez concluded that cannabis is capable of inhibiting a tumor’s ability to form new blood vessels in mice. This was good news for those seeking to treat cancer with medical marijuana. If the blood supply to a tumor is hindered, it is much more difficult for its cancerous cells to spread or even survive, providing you or your loved ones with some much needed hope in the fight against breast cancer.
More and more cannabis is showing to have a very positive effect on stopping the spread and survival of breast cancer cells. The THC found in medical marijuana is capable of hitting cancer tumors in 3 different ways, and we can help provide you with this exceptional medicine. If you or someone you love is suffering from breast cancer, call us today, we’re here to answer your questions.
