Chemotherapy Side Effects: Cannabinoids and CBD Research Overview

Chemotherapy can cause several, sometimes debilitating, side effects. Studies have shown cannabinoids can make the adverse effects more manageable.

Chemotherapy is a category of cancer treatment that uses strong drugs, administered orally or intravenously.

There are more than 100 chemotherapy drugs that are used in the treatment of cancer. The drugs prevent cancer from spreading to other parts of the body, slow the growth of tumors, and kill cancer cells.




While chemotherapy can be effective against cancer, it does cause sometimes-serious side effects.

Overview of Chemotherapy Side Effects

The side effects from chemotherapy develop because the chemotherapy drugs that attack cancerous cells also damage normal, healthy cells. Common side effects associated with chemotherapy are fever and chills, fatigue, nausea and vomiting, sore mouth, diarrhea, constipation, loss of appetite that can lead to anorexia, pain or difficulty with swallowing, swelling in the hands or feet, itching, shortness of breath, cough, and muscle or joint pain.

Individuals undergoing chemotherapy won’t necessarily experience all side effects and the severity of the side effects varies greatly from person to person. Most side effects will gradually go away after completion of the treatment.

Effects of Cannabinoids and CBD on Chemotherapy Side Effects

Cannabinoids have shown to effectively reduce the nausea and vomiting that often occurs during and after chemotherapy treatments. Studies have found that one of the major cannabinoids found in cannabis, cannabidiol (CBD), is effective at treating the more difficult to control symptoms of nausea, as well as preventing anticipatory nausea in chemotherapy patients. Another study found that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), another major cannabinoid found in cannabis, is also effective at reducing conditioned rejection and chemotherapy-induced nausea.

Cannabis has also demonstrated that it can significantly reduce neuropathic pain that traditional treatment had been unsuccessful at managing. In one study, cancer patients with intractable pain, and who had previously and unsuccessfully tried to manage their discomfort with opioids, saw significant reductions in pain levels after being treated with cannabis containing both THC and CBD for two weeks.

Cannabis can also help prevent weight loss and a loss of appetite in chemotherapy patients. THC has shown to significantly stimulate appetite in patients that have cachexia related to cancer. In addition, patients undergoing chemotherapy and treated with THC have a larger appetite and report that food “tastes better”.

Research also suggests that cannabis may help reduce the swelling in the hands and feet that can occur alongside chemotherapy. Both THC and CBD have shown to have anti-inflammatory properties. In one study, CBD effectively reduced edema in an animal’s paw.

A survey of 131 cancer patients participating in cannabis treatments for six to eight weeks reported significant improvements in all of the measured symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, mood disorders, fatigue, weight loss, anorexia, constipation, sexual function, sleep disorders, itching, and pain. Patients treated with THC have also been shown to experience a higher quality of sleep and relaxation. 

The National Cancer Institute, an organization run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, recognizes cannabis as an effective treatment for providing relief of a number of symptoms associated with cancer and chemotherapy treatments, including pain, nausea and vomiting, anxiety and loss of appetite.

Cannabis causes significant improvement in nausea, vomiting, mood disorders, fatigue, weight loss, anorexia, constipation, sexual function, sleep disorders, itching, and pain, in cancer patients after six to eight weeks of use.

Source : https://echoconnection.org