Cannabis and Chemotherapy are two words that are linked more and more every day due to recent and ongoing cannabinoid studies that have opened up a world of medicinal possibilities. Cancer is an illness that is popping up more and more these days, regardless of the reason as to why, we’re all aware that cancer is more prominent in our society than it was ten years ago. Otto H. Warburg stated that absolutely no virus or bacteria can survive an alkaline environment, including cancer. Our pH is at 7.356, and if we don’t properly control our diet we can drastically change this number within just 48h, which is a fact stated by Campbell, the author of The China Study. This pH change might also be due to a lack of oxygen in our blood, which is what a lot of doctors claim to be the leading cause of heart attacks.
Whatever the type of cancer may be, it usually causes a lot of physical pain and weakness; if combined with the terrible side effects of chemotherapy, all of these symptoms can make for a horrible, excruciating experience. The side effects of chemotherapy include nauseas, dizziness, vomiting, chronic tiredness, insomnia, loss of appetite etc., and all of these things are guaranteed to affect someone’s quality of life.
Over the past few years we’ve been witness to an amazing revolution in terms of cannabis and its beneficial effects on our bodies; in fact, it has been proven that THC stimulates certain receptors in our brain called cb1 and cb2 which basically heals damaged cells in our body, although we’re not talking about cannabis’s effects on cancer, but rather than how it can help with chemotherapy side-effects.
Beginning with insomnia, I’m sure many cannabis consumers have noticed that after consuming certain strains they tend to feel a bit drowsy; this is the perfect effect used to fight the insomnia side-effect of chemotherapy, which can lead to other issues as we all know that our bodies need rest, especially when they’re ill and in recovery.
Cannabis provides a moderate to strong relief, helping patients that go through chemotherapy to rest properly. If the patient doesn’t wish to smoke, which would be a smart choice on their part, they can also medicate through vaporizers, pills, extracts, capsules, cakes and many other kinds of food. The important thing is to activate the cannabinoids through heat so that they can be beneficial to the human body.
Cannabis is not just used for treating insomnia; it’s also used to treat loss of appetite. Everyone that has tried this substance knows that it tends to provoke an increase in appetite after being consumed; this reaction is due to the relaxation of the sympathetic muscle that sends a signal to your brain indicating that your stomach is empty and that you need to eat, even if you’ve already eaten. The muscle will contract again after one bite if you’ve already eaten. This is how endocannabinoids in breast milk function.
Chronic tiredness caused my chemotherapy can be helped with certain sativa strains vaporized if possible in order to get it into your bodies system faster. The effect is generally explosive, giving the consumer a boost in mood and possibly alleviating depression caused my hormonal imbalances due to chemotherapy. Depression can also be caused by hair loss due to an oxidization of testosterone in the body; cannabis is not known to help with hair less, although it can help amazingly with depression and tiredness through sativa strains that don’t give any physical effects; cannabis can help patients find the will to keep fighting against such a horrible illness.
Keep in mind that the decision to use cannabis alongside chemotherapy is purely personal, and you need to tell your doctor just in case cannabis interferes with whatever sort of treatment you receive. Online, you can find a number of accounts of people that have tried Rick Simpson’s cannabis oil and swear by its properties, although to try such products is each patients personal choice; it’s been proven that chemotherapy lowers your body’s k cells, lymphocytes and decreases the immune system’s efficiency for months or even years after; studies have shown that cannabis oils can help with this issue as a secondary treatment.
The inflammation caused by chemotherapy can be controlled with both cannabinoids and endocannabinoids; they help to considerably reduce pain that can be caused my “medicine”. Like we said before, it also protects your nerve endings and these sorts of effects can be found both in the resin and the flowers that come from cannabis plants, as well as juice made from cannabis leaves which is known as raw cannabis juice. This powerful juice can be used to alleviate these symptoms. Mykala, a little girl who had leukemia, was the star of a documentary due to the fact that she was one of the first underage people to use cannabis products to treat leukemia, and she won her battle at just 8 years old.
Last but not least, another symptom it can be used to treat is that of nauseas, dizziness and getting sick. People who go through chemotherapy get sick because the wall of their stomach gets extra stimulation from the rays used in the treatment. Nauseas occur due to an increase in brain pressure. It is known that cannabis relax the body physically; if consumed, it helps with both nauseas and getting sick due to how thoroughly it relaxes the body; more than one smoker has probably had a bout of low blood pressure, and if you apply this knowledge to the aforementioned issues, you’ll see that this is yet another method of fighting chemotherapy side effects.
It’s clear that cannabis can be used as a primary medicinal product, but it also has a secondary use; to reduce the symptoms provoked by other types of treatments and medicines. Cancer is an extremely difficult illness to treat, and thirty years ago cancer patients hardly held out hope of survival; nowadays, much more information has been found out about this illness, making the chances of beating it much, much stronger. Regardless, everyone should keep in mind the wise words of Otto H. Warburg and Campbell; keep your body alkaline and you should stay healthy.
Translation: Ciara Murphy
