Lung Cancer
Lung cancer is the most common cancer in the world and the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK. Although it will come as no surprise that smoking is the biggest risk factor – 72 percent of lung cancer cases in the UK are caused by tobacco products – not all lung cancers are related to smoking.
According to a report titled The International Epidemiology of Lung Cancer, exposure to indoor radon (a naturally occurring radioactive gas that enters buildings through small cracks) is considered to be the second environmental risk factor but can be avoided with a simple home test. Other risk factors include a family history of lung cancer, pre-existing diseases of the lungs such as tuberculosis or pneumonia, air pollution, high doses of radiation, and exposure to industrial or chemical carcinogens such as asbestos, silica, and arsenic. Finally, exposure to second-hand smoke or ‘passive smoking’ is another considerable risk factor.
Although former smokers are still at risk of developing lung cancer, quitting can significantly lower the risk so if you’re considering cutting out tobacco, you’ll be doing your health a great service. Tobacco contains more than 7,000 chemicals and at least 70 are known to cause cancer but within ten years of quitting, the risk of dying from lung cancer drops by half.
How Many Types Of Lung Cancer Are There?
There are two main types: small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). SCLC is rarer but more aggressive and has greater potential to metastasis than other types of lung cancer. In some cases, lung cancer tumours contain both NSCLC and SCLC cells. Mesothelioma is another type of lung cancer that is usually associated with asbestos exposure.
What Are The Typical Symptoms Of Lung Cancer?
Early symptoms include lingering or worsening cough, coughing up phlegm or blood, chest pain that worsens when you breathe deeply, laugh, or cough. Others include hoarseness, shortness of breath, wheezing, weakness and fatigue, and loss of appetite, and weight loss. There is also a correlation between lung cancer and back pain, due to the pressure of large tumours growing in the lungs, and this is often considered one of the first symptoms of lung cancer. Back pain is, of course, a common complaint and most people with it don’t have lung cancer.
How Can Medical Cannabis Help?
To date, scientific research on how cannabinoids – naturally occurring chemical compounds – in medical cannabis can treat cancer has almost entirely taken place in a laboratory or in animal models, which means medical trials on humans are necessary.
What we do know is that the body naturally produces cannabinoids, like the cannabis plant, which are called endocannabinoids (from ‘endogenous’ which means ‘growing or originating within an organism’).
Our endocannabinoid system is responsible for maintaining homeostasis within the body and regulates a variety of functions including sleep, digestion, pain, memory, fertility, inflammation, mood, and cognition. Our endocannabinoids bind to endocannabinoid receptors, of which there are two types: CB1 receptors, which are in the brain and central nervous system, and CB2 receptors, which are in the immune system. Enzymes then break down endocannabinoids once they’ve carried out their intended function to continue homeostasis.
When our endocannabinoid system becomes unbalanced – when the body isn’t correctly making endocannabinoids, if there aren’t enough receptors, if there is an overabundance of enzymes or if there isn’t adequate communication between our endocannabinoids and receptors – we experience health problems like stress, insomnia, illness, and disease, including cancer. Ingesting medical cannabis allows the plant’s cannabinoids to mimic the natural compounds in our body and bind to our CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors, helping the body function properly again.
A mix of studies listed in the journal Nature Reviews Cancer describes the effects medical cannabis has had on cancer cells in the lab, which include:
- Triggering cell death, through a mechanism called apoptosis
- Stopping cells from dividing
- Preventing new blood vessels from growing into tumours
- Reducing the chances of cancer cells spreading through the body, by stopping cells from moving or invading neighbouring tissue
- Speeding up the cell’s internal ‘waste disposal machine’ – a process known as autophagy – which can lead to cell death
It even appears that cannabinoids can exert effects on cancer cells that don’t involve cannabinoid receptors, but this remains a vague area.
If you’re opting for the conventional medicine route, which typically includes chemotherapy and radiation, medical cannabis can also soothe side-effects that include fatigue, nausea, appetite loss and pain, and more, helping you regain a quality of life again.
How Can Medical Cannabis Directly Affect Lung Cancer Tumours?
A 2010 study found that non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells have more expressed cannabinoid receptors, meaning that they have stronger reactions to cannabis components, which inhibited growth and metastasis of these cells that are resistant to chemotherapy. To understand the effect that the CB1 and CB2 receptors had on lung cancer growth, the researchers used cannabinoids specific to each receptor. When they added cannabinoids to lung cancer cells, the spread of cancer reduced.
A study from 2019 reported on an 81-year-old man who had stopped smoking 45 years previously but had been diagnosed with lung cancer following a CT scan. The patient declined conventional treatments in favour of quality of life and after taking CBD oil for one month, saw a near-total resolution of the mass and a significant reduction in size and number of mediastinal lymph nodes.
A 54-year-old Australian woman called Sharon Kelly who was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 2013 treated it with medical cannabis suppositories. You can watch her story here.
Last year, Thailand’s new Medical Cannabis Research Institute of the College of Pharmacy at Rangsit University, which has built its own small closed-system cannabis farm to provide the raw material for medical cannabis research, also revealed a breakthrough. Researchers found that (THC) and cannabinol (CBN) inhibited the growth of lung cancer cells in mice.“Our clinical trials in the laboratory and on animals of the lung-cancer treatment proficiency of three major cannabinoid compounds – THC, CBD [Cannabidiol], and CBN – showed that THC and CBN can effectively deter cancer growth, confirming the potential of using cannabis to treat lung cancer in humans,” said Asst Professor Surang Leelawat. “Even though it is too early to claim that cannabis can cure cancer, this promising research result will be developed further through a phase of clinical trials in humans. We hope that we will find an effective treatment for lung cancer in the near future.”
Further Reading
How and where to safely buy RSO medical cannabis oil online
Help and Advice
If you need advice or help with Medical Cannabis and RSO, please use the contact form provided. We try to answer all emails within 24 hours and are happy to help and advise on all aspects of Medical Cannabis treatments in complete confidence.
Disclaimer: Please note that whilst we consider ourselves subject matter experts regarding Medical Cannabis, we are not medical professionals. We are a Medical Cannabis information resource, educating and helping those in need. Whilst we are very strong believers in the benefits of Medical Cannabis, there is still limited evidence that Medical Cannabis can treat/cure all the illnesses we discuss on our website. We recommend you do as much research as possible, and where practical seek professional medical advice before proceeding with Medical Cannabis oil.