- Researchers say that more than 40 percent of people
being treated for breast cancer use cannabis to help with side effects
from treatment.
- Nearly half of those who use cannabis haven’t told
their doctor.
- Experts say people using cannabis need to be aware of
its limitations, as well as the possibility of it interacting with other
medications.
Surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy are the most common treatments for breast cancer, but there’s another drug that’s being used by almost half of people with the disease.
That
would be cannabis.
More
often than not, however, cancer doctors are unaware of their patients’ cannabis
use.
A new
Three-quarters
of the people who used cannabis said it was helpful in alleviating their
symptoms.
Research
has shown that cannabis can be effective for
many of these symptoms, notably pain and nausea.
However,
nearly half of the study participants who used cannabis (49 percent) also
believed that cannabis could be used to treat cancer itself — something that’s
not supported by research.
The quiet use of cannabis
The
study found that 79 percent of cannabis users had used the drug during their
treatment.
Cannabis
was consumed in a variety of ways — hemp and marijuana, THC and/or CBD — and at
unknown frequency and dosage.
However,
only 39 percent of people who used cannabis discussed their use of it with
their doctors.
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Those
who sought information on medical cannabis were far more likely to search
online than to talk with a physician, although either way, most were
unsatisfied with the information they received.
“Our
study highlights an important opportunity for providers to initiate informed
conversations about medical cannabis with their patients, as the evidence shows
that many are using medical cannabis without our knowledge or guidance,” said
Weiss
said that not knowing whether or not cancer patients are using cannabis “is a
major blind spot in our ability to provide optimal care.”
She
told Healthline that doctors need information
on cannabis use to ensure patients that symptoms and side effects “are being
adequately managed while minimizing the risk of potential adverse effects,
treatment interactions, or non-adherence to standard treatments due to
misinformation about the use of medical cannabis to treat cancer.”
Dr. Jordan
Tishler, president of the Association of
Cannabinoid Specialists and an internist at inhaleMD, told
Healthline that the use of cannabis among cancer patients has risen sharply in recent
years.
“On one
level, 42 percent seems surprising. On the other hand, perhaps it would be
better if it was closer to 100 percent,” said Tishler.
He
noted that cannabis should fall on the continuum of pain treatments somewhere
between analgesics and opiates.
“For
treatment of cancer-related symptoms, cannabis is really a no-brainer,” he
said.
However,
Tishler said that while there are some studies showing that cannabinoids — one
of the main therapeutic ingredients in cannabis — can kill cancer in cell
cultures, the drug is “nowhere near ready for human prime time” as a cancer
treatment.
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