Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Cannabis and Prostate Cancer

There are awkward medical exams that happen, and men definitely know that prostate cancer exams are awkward, but they should be done. The discomfort that comes from a prostate exam is far less than if there are actual problems. Plus, the sooner you know about the cancer, the easier it is to handle. 

The Truth is Prostate Cancer is Rising 

It was found that the diagnoses were increasing, and it went up to 8% in general.  There were some incidents that went about 105 for every 100,000 men within the US. The CDC did find in the last ten years over 3 million new diagnoses.  They did have the lowest diagnosis rate amongst Caucasian men, but black and non-Hispanic men had the highest rate. 



About Prostate Cancer 

The key thing with prostate cancer, like many cancer, is the earlier the detection, the greater the chance for survival.  About 77% of the prostate cancer patients that are out there get diagnosed with the condition in a localized place. About 11% of them are diagnosed when this most past just the prostate, but in other regions. Then, there are 5% which are basically metastatic, which means that they spread to different locations. 

The key is to diagnose early, as this can help with the survival rate, and it also helps with preventing late-stage cancer.  Plus, the earlier you find it, the better the survival rate.  If you diagnose it in the late stages, less than a third of them survive after five years. 

The survival rate though for those in early stages, is about 97%, so it’s much higher.  But, if it’s localized, it’s 100% in most cases. 

How cannabis might help 

Right now, there is new research that’s come up looking at the benefits that the cannabinoids might have for this. 

There is some research which might be promising.

That’s because the prostate gland does have both TRPV1 and CB1 receptors in this. When someone has prostate cancer, the endocannabinoid system does get suppressed, which is what may predict when the prostate cancer develops. 

There are certain cannabinoids that also might help with slowing down tumor development, or even suppress it. It was found that HTC may help with this.



There is some research too which has found that the cancer cells for prostate cancer have higher types of CB1 and CB2 receptors.  These are strong, and they usually stop the growth of these tumors, and so, it’ll stop the growth, but also the spread of this to different areas.

It also was found as well that the interaction that prostate cancer and cannabis have may also reduce the activity of the androgen receptors.  This of course, is the hormone that causes the growth of prostate cancer to form. 

It also might help with some of the other symptoms that cancer, especially chemotherapy have.

These may include: 

  • Chronic pain 

  • Vomiting and nausea 

  • Headaches 

  • Insomnia 

  • Appetite loss 

  • Anxiety and depression 

  • Neuropathy 

This is something that a lot of patients have looked into, and if you do have cancer, or are at risk for this, there is a chance that cannabis might be the answer that you’re looking for to treat these conditions, which is why more and more people are seeking it out.



It is a possible solution, or at the very least, a way for you to definitely consider as well to hell with the treatment of this, and as more research comes out, we might learn more about using cannabis to treat types of cancer.