I'd like some input from medical marijuana users, to pass on to my sister

[Siwsan]

They have, once again, chance my sister's chemo and the one she's on now something that causes nausea, lack of appetite, etc. She had been making such good headway in re-gaining weight, and is feeling a little discouraged. Also, this chemo has a side effect of causing neuropathy in her feet, so all of the headway she's made in walking is threatened. She has breast cancer that spread to the myelin in her neck (affecting her left side - very weak but not paralyzed) and her latest PET scan showed some spots on her femur, and a couple other places. Thus, the change up in chemo.

I've been trying and trying to get her to obtain a card (we're in Michigan) but until now she has resisted. Her reasons are she won't be able to tolerate the smell of the smoke AND she's afraid it will affect her balance. Well, those are the latest reasons. However, I am making a little headway, reminding her of the many benefits she might experience, and that she does't have to smoke it.

So, I would love to be able to pass on other people's experiences and the benefits they received.

Thanks so much, in advance

[Politicalboi]

1. I am a med user, but I don't have cancer

Google is a great place to start, with stories about those who use medical marijuana for cancer and the help it gave them.

https://www.google.com/#q=cancer+and+marijuana

You tube also is a great place to go to too.

Good luck

[Siwsan]

3. Thanks

If a head cold qualified me, I'd go for it. And, it's funny she's so reticent because we both 'indulged' quite often, back in the day so she knows what to expect.

[fredamae]

2. Here are some ideas

http://michiganmedicalmarijuana.org/page/articles/health/ingestion-methods

There are ways to use cannabis without smoking-vaporizers (smokeless), tinctures, infused food products, capsules and even suppositories for those who can't hold food down...

[Siwsan]

4. Great link

Thanks!

[fredamae]

5. Edited For Full Video:Running from the cure (Cancer)

An amazing story. You might research this. I don't know anything else about it except I do occasionally meet someone who swears they're now cancer free according to their dr's but what kind of cancer and how serious it was when they tried this? I just don't know--I have nothing more than hearsay and this video made me curious for myself...just in case...

Best of luck to your sister!

[Siwsan]

6. Thanks

She's been fighting cancer, again, for several years, now, after having supposedly been cancer free for over 15 years. She had a serious exposure to black mold, and shortly after the cancer came back. Kind of reinforced my theory that it has everything to do with the immune system - we all develop cancers but some of us have strong enough immune systems to fight it off.

[fredamae]

8. Oh dear....

I agree--I believe I read somewhere cancer is a virus.
I hope she has great success in returning to being cancer free.
(I reposted the correct full length video above; Running from the cure)

[RainDog]

7. she can vape, not smoke

and use an edible before bed that will help with sleep but will wear off by the time she wakes up. She should take the edible no more than an hour before bedtime.

She could get a card and first only use an edible before bedtime to see if she notices any helpful effects without her worries about balance, etc.

fwiw - a lot of people use mj before doing yoga - so it's not necessarily a situation in which someone's balance would be impacted - b/c you have to be able to balance to do certain poses.

marijuana is nothing like alcohol, in terms of its effects - and different people have different effects. But if she's worried about balance, she could also use a hybrid with as much CBD as is available - tho both THC and CBD have medical effects.

She could also see if people in her state sell cannabis oils. These have shown promising results for people with illnesses - and some people claim the oil, the concentrate, has anti-cancer effects - but only one human trial has demonstrated this for one type of cancer. But, to me - it couldn't hurt, and if it helps - that's another reason to try it since there's no medical reason not to, while undergoing chemo. AS LONG AS the plant material isn't contaminated with pesticides, etc.

someone only needs to use a small amt - something less than the size of an eraser on the tip of a pencil, to get relief from various symptoms related to nausea, etc. with smoked or vaped mj. with oils, it's even less.

I tried it in the past to help with migraines and the nausea related to them - someone gave me some. Within 15 seconds, most of the migraine pain and feelings of nausea were gone.

That won't happen for someone who uses edibles - they take an hour or so, from what I have heard from those who have used them.

I don't have experience with cancer, but do have experience using mj for nausea, vomiting and extreme pain. It worked.

I was shocked, frankly, by how well it worked.

[Siwsan]

11. Great information - thanks

I KNEW I could rely on my DU community!

[RainDog]

14. Low-dose vaporized cannabis significantly improves neuropathic pain.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23237736

Abstract
We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study evaluating the analgesic efficacy of vaporized cannabis in subjects, the majority of whom were experiencing neuropathic pain despite traditional treatment. Thirty-nine patients with central and peripheral neuropathic pain underwent a standardized procedure for inhaling medium-dose (3.53%), low-dose (1.29%), or placebo cannabis with the primary outcome being visual analog scale pain intensity. Psychoactive side effects and neuropsychological performance were also evaluated. Mixed-effects regression models demonstrated an analgesic response to vaporized cannabis. There was no significant difference between the 2 active dose groups' results (P > .7). The number needed to treat (NNT) to achieve 30% pain reduction was 3.2 for placebo versus low-dose, 2.9 for placebo versus medium-dose, and 25 for medium- versus low-dose. As these NNTs are comparable to those of traditional neuropathic pain medications, cannabis has analgesic efficacy with the low dose being as effective a pain reliever as the medium dose. Psychoactive effects were minimal and well tolerated, and neuropsychological effects were of limited duration and readily reversible within 1 to 2 hours. Vaporized cannabis, even at low doses, may present an effective option for patients with treatment-resistant neuropathic pain.

A doctor of psychiatry, Lester Grinspoon, who was a professor at Harvard, switched from being "anti-cannabis" to pro when he saw that using marijuana just before chemo helped his son - that was in the 1970s. His son had leukemia and Grinspoon's wife, not the doctor, was the one who went out an procured illegal cannabis for her son.

She had her son smoke in the car before going into the clinic for chemo. The docs saw how well the son responded and told the mother she could come into the clinic to smoke.

Prior to including mj as part of his cancer therapy, Grinspoon's son couldn't eat after chemo. With mj, he could.

Wasting is one of the biggest dangers to chemo patients - so, please tell your sister that the history of the use of cannabis as an adjunct to chemo is on the side of the use of the same.

I hope she finds relief and healing.

[Siwsan]

17. I'm sending her the links people have supplied

How amazing that such a wonderful source of relief can be home grown. Good to know there's something that big pharma can't exploit. Which is why they lobbied so hard to keep marijuana totally illegal.

[Ohio Joe]

9. I have a red card here in Colorado...

"she won't be able to tolerate the smell of the smoke AND she's afraid it will affect her balance"

Well... I don't suggest she smoke it. I suggest either getting a good home vaporizer (not one of the pen vaporizers but a real one) or consume edibles. Dizziness can still be a factor but there are even ways to avoid almost all of the 'high' from consuming it. I suggest CBD chews:

http://www.cheebachews.com/cbd.html

Almost zero 'high' but all of the other benefits.

[Siwsan]

13. Never heard of those, before!

I knew she'd never smoke it, but I'm thinking the vaporizer is her best bet. However, I'm going to look into the chews.

[GeorgeGist]

10. If she/you can afford it get a vaporizer.

Good ones are essentially smokeless but do have an aroma of THC.

[Siwsan]

12. I will spend what it takes to help her

I told her about the vaporizers and it was the first time I heard her hesitate in her pushing back at my suggestion. I've driven past a local 'supply' business, but can't remember where it was! I'll find it. I'm on a quest.

[RainDog]

15. felix_numinous

is someone here who has used marijuana related to cancer - a recurring form.

You might want to send a pm.

[Siwsan]

18. Thanks

I am getting such great info.

[arely staircase]

16. a friend of mine used mj during cancer treatments last year

I knew about its use for nausia and appetite (theraputic munchies) but he also told me that whtever he was going through caused him to over salivate and that the theraputic cotton mouth was his biggest benefit (don't know if you have smoked pot but it dries up your mouth). anyway, that is pretty much all I know about medical mj.

[Siwsan]

19. Ah, the dreaded cotton mouth

Yea, I'm sure someone must have told me about that. (cough, cough). That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

[RainDog]

20. here's someone from the research side of cancer

Sánchez (Madrid, Spain, 1971) graduated in Biology at Madrid Complutense University in 1994. Once graduated, she joined Dr. Manuel Guzmán’’s laboratory, where she studied the effect of cannabinoids on lipid and carbohydrate intermediate metabolism first and on cancer cell proliferation later. She obtained her PhD with Honors in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Complutense University in 2000.

During her postdoc at Dr. Piomelli’’s laboratory (University of California Irvine, 2000-2003) she studied the involvement of another group of bioactive lipids (lysophosphatidic acid and related compounds) on pain initiation. In 2004, Cristina returned to Spain and she started coordinating a new line of research within Dr. Guzmán’’s laboratory. The goal of her research is to understand and exploit cannabinoids as potential antitumoral agents in breast cancer. More recently, she has also focused her attention on new cannabinoid receptors and their possible involvement in cannabinoid antitumoral action in breast cancer and other type of tumors.

http://vimeo.com/83094404#embed

[RainDog]

21. and another report on cannabis and cancer cells

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/25/marijuana-cancer_n_4158865.html

A scientist in the United Kingdom has found that compounds derived from marijuana can kill cancerous cells found in people with leukemia, a form of cancer that is expected to cause an estimated 24,000 deaths in the United States this year.

"Cannabinoids have a complex action; it hits a number of important processes that cancers need to survive," study author Dr. Wai Liu, an oncologist at the University of London's St. George medical school, told The Huffington Post. "For that reason, it has really good potential over other drugs that only have one function. I am impressed by its activity profile, and feel it has a great future, especially if used with standard chemotherapies."

During the study, Liu and his team grew leukemia cells in a lab and cultured them with increasing doses of the six pure cannabinoids, both individually and in combination with each other. His study says the six cannabinoids were CBD (Cannabidiol), CBDA (Cannabidiolic acid), CBG (Cannbigerol), CBGA (Cannabigerolic acid), CBGV (Cannabigevarin) and CBGVA (Cannabigevaric acid). Liu and his team then assessed the viability of the leukemia cells and determined whether or not the cannabinoids destroyed the cells or stopped them from growing.

..."Cancer is an umbrella term for a range of diseases that fundamentally differ in their cellular makeup, which occur as a result of disturbances to growth controls," Liu said. "Chemotherapy works by disrupting these dysfunctional growth signals. Therefore, any cancers that have these profiles should respond to the chemotherapy. It just so happens that a number of cannabinoids can target these very same mechanisms that make cancer what it is, and so any cancer that exhibits these faults should respond well to cannabinoids. The flip side is, of course, that other cancers may not have these same genetic faults and so cannabinoids may not work as well."

Cannabis promotes death of cancer cells by depriving them of energy, while leaving healthy cells untouched - this information is based upon a study done in the U.S. in the 1970s (yeah) that was replicated in another form of cancer in 2005, in Spain, in addition to Liu's work, noted above.