Treating Breast Cancer with Medical Marijuana

Not everyone using marijuana for breast cancer is getting a prescription; some are merely self-medicating.

This legalization issue has caused rifts in families, and between lovers and friends. Those opposing legalization often cite the somewhat “established” belief that weed is for dysfunctional members of society and those without gumption to live a normal life. As such, "it has no place", they tell anyone who’ll listen.

When medical marijuana was voted as legal to use in certain American states, territories, and other countries, many people became even more adamant about the ‘unsoundness’ of the voters.

So far, “29 American states and the District of Columbia have legalized its medical use, plus the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico”. To the north of us, British Columbia, Canada, has also legalized its medical use.

One of the most frequent uses of medical marijuana (cannabis) is for treatment of cancer symptoms and chronic disease.

Are you using medical marijuana? Is it helping you?

The news is that marijuana can treat breast cancer. Is this true?

To help guide us through the medical use of marijuana for breast cancer, we are given some information and helpful tips by TG Daily (TG):

Know that research on cannabis treatment is limited.

• As cannabis has been declared illegal, there has been limited research of the drug.
• In-lab research has shown great outcomes per Collective Evolution: “A study published in the US National Library of Medicine, conducted by the California Pacific Medical Centre, determined that cannabidiol (CBD) inhibits human breast cancer cell proliferation and invasion. They also demonstrated that CBD significantly reduces tumor mass.”
• A study published in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics determined that THC as well as cannabidiol dramatically reduced breast cancer cell growth. They confirmed the potency and effectiveness of these compounds.
• A study published in the journal Molecular Cancer showed that THC reduced tumor growth and tumor numbers. This study provides strong evidence for the use of cannabinoid-based therapies to manage breast cancer.
• A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) determined that cannabinoids inhibit human breast cancer cell proliferation.

Cannabis treatment depends on the type of breast cancer

There are a number of types of breast cancer; what treats one type may not have a healing effect on the other.

Learn the differences between ER, PR, HER2 negative and positive and of Ki-67.

• Once again, a treatment with a positive effect on one cell type may not have the same effect on another type.
• Some cell types grow and spread faster than others.
• A positive cell indicates a specific quality of the cell; its negative counterpart indicates that quality does not apply to that cell type. For example, a positive HER2 cell-type indicates faster tumor growth; a negative HER2 does not.
• ER-positive cancer cells may grow with estrogen; PR positive cancers may grow with progesterone. For these two cell types, they may respond best to hormonal treatment.
• Ki-67 is a protein marker which indicates faster tumor growth.

Read on to learn more about the relationship between medical marijuana and breast cancer.