Without a doubt, cancer is one of the most dreadful diseases among all. For a long time, cancer was considered as a terminal illness because of the unavailability of any effective treatment against it. But thanks to medical scientists who have done their best to make cancer a curable disease.
Among different cancer treatments that were introduced in the latter part of the 20th century, Chemotherapy is the one which uses a comprehensive regimen of different chemicals to reduce and stop the growth of cancerous tumors. While it’s an effective treatment that has helped many patients all around the world to get rid of this deadly disease, some side effects are also associated with it and nausea and vomiting are the most debilitating ones.
It’s important to remember that chemotherapy treatments can extend to several months, depending on the level of cancer. During the course of treatment, cancer patients suffer from various serious side effects including weight loss and a constant feeling of nausea.
These side effects can make the life of cancer patients a living hell. Therefore, medical science has also introduced medications to take care of chemotherapy-induced vomiting and nausea. However, these medicines also have the same issue i.e. the unwanted side effects.
Medical Marijuana: An Effective Medicine to Cure Nausea Due to Chemotherapy
For patients who are already administrating too many chemicals in their chemotherapy, marijuana in different medicinal forms is a good alternative to treat nausea that follows the treatment.
Clinical Trials Validates the Use of Medical Marijuana
More than 30 clinical trials have been conducted to study the effect of medical cannabis to treat chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. The general consensus from these trials declares cannabinoids as a more effective treatment method for chemotherapy patients as compared to popular conventional medicines prescribed for nausea. Medical marijuana has been studied for two of its distinctive effects in the body that help in treating chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.
Activation of Dorsal Vagal Complex
Scientists believe that medical marijuana helps in stopping vomiting by activating the receptors present in Dorsal Vagal Complex (DVC) of the brain. There are two receptors in DVC that control the vomiting response and medical marijuana activates them. This action of marijuana helps in reducing the ongoing feeling of nausea in the patients undergoing chemotherapy treatments.
Engage the Endocannabinoid System
Endocannabinoid System (ECS) is a network of cell receptors responsible for many bodily functions. For instance, ECS is responsible to regulate the visceral sensitivity of the gut. Visceral sensitivity is defined as the body’s ability to feel its organs. A high visceral sensitivity of the gut is responsible to increase the feeling of nausea. It is believed that medical marijuana helps in reducing the visceral sensitivity of gut by regulating the receptors in ECS.
Keep in mind that medical marijuana can easily be administered without smoking. This means the patient can use it without incurring any harmful side effects. Patients and their caregivers can get different non-smoking medical marijuana products from Sacred Garden
