Chemotherapy and Medical Marijuana in Virginia

Written By Scott Fiore

Chemotherapy and cannabis

Chemotherapy is an aggressive form of chemical drug therapy meant to destroy rapidly growing cells in the body. This therapy is used to treat cancer because cancer cells grow and divide faster than other cells.

Chemotherapy has been discovered to effectively attack cancer cells, but it can cause serious side effects that can severely impact the quality of life of an individual. Many of the side effects from chemotherapy including nausea can be treated effectively using marijuana or cannabis products.

There are many chemotherapy drugs available that can be used alone or in combination to treat a wide variety of cancers.

WHAT DOES CHEMOTHERAPY DO?

It depends on the kind of cancer an individual has and how far along it is.

  • Cure: Chemotherapy treatment can destroy cancer cells to the point that the physician can no longer detect them in your body. After that, the best outcome is that they never grow back again, but this does not always happen.

  • Control: Sometimes it may only be able to keep cancer from spreading to other parts of your body or slow the growth of cancer tumors.

  • Ease symptoms: Chemotherapy can’t cure or control the spread of all cancer. What it does sometimes is to cause tumors that cause pain or pressure to shrink. These tumors often continue to grow back. Sometimes medical marijuana can help with the pain caused by the growth of cancer throughout the body.                           

HOW IS CHEMOTHERAPY USED?

Sometimes, it treats cancer by itself, but most times it is used in combination with:

●      Surgery: Cancerous tumors or tissue, or organs contaminated with cancerous cells are being removed.

●      Radiation therapy: Invisible radioactive particles are used to kill cancer cells. It may be delivered by a special machine that bombards the particular parts of the body from the outside, or by putting radioactive material on, near, and even inside your body.

●      Biological therapy: Living materials in the form of bacteria, vaccines, or antibodies are carefully introduced into the body to kill cancer cells.

METHODS OF CHEMOTHERAPY ADMINISTRATION

  1. Injection.

  2. Intra-arterial.

  3. Intraperitoneal.

  4. Intrathecal.

  5. Intravenous.

  6. Topical.

  7. Oral.

SIDE EFFECTS OF CHEMOTHERAPY THAT MARIJUANA COULD HELP

  • Dry mouth.

  • Mouth sores

  • Fatigue.

  • Fever.

  • Hair loss.

  • Loss of appetite.

  • Nausea.

  • Vomiting.

  • Constipation.

  • Weight loss.

  • Easy bruising and excessive bleeding.

  • Diarrhea.

  • Pain from nerve damage.

  • Reduced immunity.

  • Anemia.

  • Neuropathy.

  • Lymphedema.

  • Memory problems.

  • Concentration problems.

  • Skin changes.

  • Nail changes.

  • Insomnia.

  • Sexual changes.

  • Fertility changes.

CHEMOTHERAPY AND MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Approximately 30% of all Americans will develop cancer in their lifetimes. Although two-thirds will eventually die as a result, many will live with cancer for years afterwards. Therefore, researchers seek medicines to prevent and cure the disease but also seek drugs to make life easier for individuals with cancer. Individuals with cancer who use marijuana say that it benefits them in several ways by reducing and relaxing the symptoms that come along with chemotherapy such as reducing nausea, suppressing vomiting, increasing appetite, relieving pain, and soothing anxiety.

Clinical studies indicate that marijuana could play an integral part in helping patients that suffer from cancer and are undergoing chemotherapy. One advantage of marijuana is that it could be beneficial in treating several symptoms simultaneously. The FDA has also approved Dronabinol (Marinol, Syndros) and Nabilone (Cesamet), man-made cannabinoids, to treat these symptoms when other medications do not work. Therefore, medical marijuana could be used to complement standard medications or to treat patients for where other therapies have failed.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA COMES IN SEVERAL FORMS

They include:

  • Dried leaves, plant, or buds for smoking.

  • Edible products for oral ingestion, like cookies, brownies, gummies, or candies.

  • Oils that can be vaporized or mixed into food and drinks

  • Creams that can be applied topically to the skin.

  • Solutions that can be sprayed into the mouth.

  • Capsules and pills.

SIDE EFFECTS THAT ARE POSSIBLE FROM THE USE OF MARIJUANA

They include:

  • Difficulty with concentration and memory.

  • Dizziness.

  • Dry mouth and eyes.

  • Fainting.

  • Fast heart rate.

  • Headache.

  • Increased appetite.

  • Low blood pressure.

Therefore proper monitoring by a physician must be done while taking medical marijuana. Our marijuana doctor at CannabisMD TeleMed has helped thousands of patients realize the natural benefits of medical cannabis treatment.

How to Get Medical Marijuana to Treat Chemotherapy Side Effects in Virginia

For patients who suffer from the side effects of chemotherapy or have any other medical condition or symptom they feel could benefit from marijuana treatment we recommend scheduling an appointment with our marijuana doctor or one of his cannabis practitioners.

By getting your Virginia marijuana card you will get access to the state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries which will allow patients to purchase marijuana and cannabis-infused products to treat their medical conditions. The products sold at the state marijuana dispensaries in Virginia have strict controls on what can be in the product.

Many of our patients like that they will know exactly what is in their medical cannabis products when they purchase natural and medicinal marijuana products from the dispensaries. They also appreciate that it gives them access to the same potency product anytime they need it as well as the added benefit of being able to have it hand delivered to their door.

Start the process of getting your Virginia Marijuana Card today be clicking on the “Schedule an Evaluation” button below. All payments are 100% refundable if you are not certified for medical marijuana treatment. All medical conditions are considered by our marijuana doctor and his team of providers so if you are interested in seeing if you could benefit then schedule your appointment to get approved today!

Scott Fiore
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