Cancer

Medical Marijuana and Cancer

Cancer has touched the lives of almost every person living in the U.S. today. When you find out you have cancer, it’s an incredible shock to your system. Thankfully, there are new treatments and ways of managing the disease coming out on a regular basis. If you’re struggling with cancer treatment or you know someone who is, it’s likely that you’ve wondered about taking medical cannabis for cancer to ease your symptoms.

Millions of Americans are afflicted with cancer, the nation’s second-leading cause of death. There are more than 100 types of cancer, including breast cancer, skin cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer and lymphoma. Treatment options for cancer include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, which are often harsh and cause severe side effects.

What Is Cancer?

Everyone has heard the word, but do you know what this disease is? Cancer begins in the building blocks of your body – your cells. In a healthy individual, your body creates new cells when you need them, replacing old ones that have died off. In a person with cancer, this process goes wrong. Even when your body doesn’t need them, new cells grow and old ones continue to live when they shouldn’t.

These extra cells can create a mass that is known as a tumor. Tumors can be benign — non-cancerous — or malignant — cancerous. When you have a malignant tumor, its cells can invade your healthy tissue nearby and can sometimes break away and spread to other areas of your body.

Cancer is a general term frequently used to indicate any of various types of malignant neoplasms, most of which invade surrounding tissues, may metastasize to several sites and are likely to recur after attempted removal and to kill the patient unless adequately treated.