"My family has a long history of breast cancer among women. Luckily, everyone who has gotten it has survived with conventional treatment, chemo, etc. That said, I am interested in preventative measures. I do not drink alcohol much, eat a very healthy diet and exercise regularly. My use of CBD has been successful in reducing overall body inflammation and the amount of migraines I get. Could it also inhibit breast cancer if I use it regularly for a long period of time?"
You are doing all the right things to minimize your preventable risk of breast cancer in the face of the heritable risk you have locked in your genes. In August of 2015, for the first time in history, the National Cancer Institute-a Federal Governnent Agency- documented on it’s website that evidence based science supports the role of CBD in killing and inhibiting breast cancer cells in vitro-with and without markers!
The unique cannabinoid Cannabidiol has antiproliferative, immune modulating and anti inflammatory benefits that are in theory, ideal for breast cancer prophylaxis. Research is needed to develope population based guidelines on dosing and methodology for breast cancer prevention.
I encourage patients to recognize that while CBD is not psychoactive, it does cross the blood brain barrier and can be very sedating. A simple and cost effective approach that makes common sense, given the lack of well defined clinical guidelines, is to find a pure unadulterated CBD extract from a source like industrial grade hemp and use it via medicine dropper at night as an aid to a deep and restorative nights sleep. The GI route allows a slow metabolism and distribution to the liver, organs and tissues during sleep. It is known that the body optimizes it’s analgesic and immune boosting state during Stage 3&4 sleep.
drsumchai
That’s an interesting question. In the laboratory it seems that CBD can help to kill cancer cells.CBD coordinates apoptosis (cell suicide) and autophagy, (cell recycling), resulting in the death of breast cancer cells. Apoptosis plays a vital role within our bodies. It is a form of cell death that facilitates the elimination of old and unhealthy cells without the release of harmful substances. Autophagy is another normal physiological process by which the body breaks down unwanted cells. It maintains our homeostasis, or balance, by aiding the degradation of old cells and the formation of new ones. So it seems that CBD can help to destroy cancer cells in the laboratory.
That being said, it has not been shown that cannabis helps to decrease the incidence of any form of cancer in humans.
Perry Solomon, MD
