Cancer can have devastating effects on any human being. The growth of abnormal cells that causes cancer makes it one of the deadliest non-communicable diseases in the world. The abnormal cells that grow on any part of our body can be malignant or tumor cells. Slowly they start destroying our body tissue, making us extremely sick. There are different types of cancers — breast, skin, lung, prostate cancer, among others. All of them are dangerous and can lead to loss of life if not treated in time. As per a survey, one in every six deaths across the world happens due to cancer. If your cancer is in later stages, it’s not treatable. However, early signs of cancer can be treated. In this article, we shall talk about how CBD can help lung cancer patients?
Let’s dive in!
What Is Lung Cancer?
As the name suggests, lung cancer starts in the lungs. In lung cancer, abnormal cells grow out of control. Lungs are two organs tied together that resemble a sponge. While the right lung has three sections, also called lobes, the left has two lobes. Most cases of lung cancers typically start in the cells lining the bronchi and bronchioles. There are mainly two types of lung cancers — non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer. As per research, about 85 percent of lung cancers are non-small cell lung cancers. In this category of cancers, mainly smokers are affected. The NSCLC is further of three types — adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma. The small cell lung cancer has four types of cancers — lung carcinoid tumors and cystic carcinomas, lymphomas, and sarcomas.
What Is Cannabidiol?
CBD is also called cannabidiol, a compound that’s extracted from cannabis or marijuana plants. Variants of CBD may vary, with a 3-20 percent concentration. Although there are many benefits of CBD, people primarily use CBD for three things — stress, mental health issues, and pain management. It’s mainly extracted from hemp plants, as it’s the only plant with less than 1.3 percent THC content. The less concentration of THC in cannabis means more CBD production and that’s good for manufacturers dealing in CBD products. While CBD is generally found to be healthy and a major stress buster, THC is one chemical in marijuana that’s responsible for intoxication.
Apart from these two, there are around 500 cannabidiols, flavonoids, and terpenes, which make marijuana a unique plant or herb. Due to naturally occurring medical properties, CBD has become the best wellness product of recent times. From major anxiety issues to inflammation problems — CBD can cure numerous complications. You can also find CBD-based products in coffee shops, recreational marijuana stores, beauty salons, and spas offering CBD massage. People with mental health issues and stress are using CBD products as they offer speedy solutions without any known side effects.
CBD Effect On Lung Cancer
The research shows that cannabis connects with our central nervous and the immune system. Both these systems protect us from different kinds of germs. The regular use of CBD can provide relief from different complications such as pain, nausea and vomiting, weight loss, anxiety and sleep. Science has proved the regulated use of CBD can reduce your pain that emerges from cancer. It even provides relief from treatments like chemotherapy. There are already two FDA-approved cannabinoid drugs on the market — nabilone (Cesamet) and dronabinol (Marinol).
One of the major problems that arise due to lung cancer is weight loss as you lose appetite. CBD has proved effective in increasing appetite, which leads to muscle gain. There is enough research to back the claim that people suffering from anxiety and sleep issues that may arise due to cancer benefit from CBD usage. Several small-scale studies back these claims. Trials done in cells and animals reveal CBD can control the growth of abnormal cells in lung cancer in the early stages. However, more research is required to find out its full impact on lung cancer. Notably, CBD does not cure cancer but helps with issues arising from cancer like pain, nausea, and anxiety. There has been limited research on marijuana and its allied products in the US. While the Farm Bill, 2018, allowed the commercialization of hemp-based CBD products, more in-depth research, coupled with large-scale clinical studies, is needed to find its health benefits.
Other Uses Of CBD
One must know that CBD may surely have proved to be highly effective in managing certain health issues, it does not address the root cause of the complication. CBD surely helps you in addressing some key health issues but it’s not a panacea of diseases. Cannabinoid therapy has revealed that CBD has real health benefits due to its properties to influence the endocannabinoid system present in our body, which is responsible for managing many of our bodily functions, including pain, appetite, sleep, and memory. Resultantly, CBD has been beneficial in treating health complications like anxiety, stress, inflammation, digestion, insomnia, seizures, epilepsy, PTSD, and more. CBD is a non-intoxicating compound, which does not cause high. But it surely does make you feel good about yourself, meaning it’ll put you in a good mood. Put three drops of CBD oil under your tongue before sleep and this could be your best sleep ever. CBD activates CB2 receptors in the brain. It does not alter consciousness but will put you in a comfortable mood. When one consumes CBD, it activates an endocannabinoid called Anandamide, a feel-good endocannabinoid, in the brain.
The Bottom Line: CBD and Lung Cancer
While it’s true that CBD does not cure cancer of any kind. To understand its impact on cancer, the federal government needs to allow clinical trials, which could be possible in the future only. However, symptoms associated with any type of cancer, including lung cancer, such as chronic pain, nausea and vomiting, fatigue, anxiety and stress, and insomnia are treatable with regulated use of CBD. Patients suffering from such health complications should consult their health experts to understand the dosage regimen.
