According to the World Health Organization, cancer is the leading cause of death globally. The disease was responsible for an estimated 9.6 million deaths in 2018, and according to reports, cancer deaths amount to 163 per 100,000 people each year. The most common cancers are lung, breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer. These affect millions of people worldwide.
Cancer is a generic term that’s used to describe a large group of diseases that can affect any organ of the body. What makes cancer so dangerous is that it causes a rapid increase in abnormal cells that grow beyond the normal boundaries, and as a result, can spread to other nearby organs of the body.
While cancer patients are given medication to provide some relief from the pain and discomfort brought about by chemotherapy, it’s not seen as an effective remedy for pain in most patients.
While some cancers are treatable, others are not. The treatment mostly depends on early diagnosis, which means that the patient’s life can be saved if the cancer is detected before it metastasizes.
The insufficient management of chronic pain in cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy can have an adverse effect on their quality of life. While cancer patients are given medication to provide some relief from the pain and discomfort brought about by chemotherapy, it’s not seen as an effective remedy for pain in most patients.
Recently, a group of researchers from the Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre in collaboration with the Shropshire and Mid-Wales Hospice, Shrewsbury, and the St. Luke’s Hospice, Plymouth, carried out a study on the effectiveness of hemp oil for chronic pain management in cancer patients.
For a long time, hemp has been seen as an alternative to the traditional pharmacological interventions that are given to cancer patients that are going through chronic pain. The objective of the study was to investigate the tolerance and safety of hemp spray that is used for pain relief in advanced-stage cancer patients.
43 patients participated in the study to identify the effectiveness of hemp oil for cancer-related pain. All of the patients who had taken part in the study were also part of a previous three-part study that included the use of hemp and placebo treatments. This study was considered to be a follow-up of that previous study where the patients entered a randomized controlled trial as well.
During the study, the participants used the hemp spray to get relief from chronic pain. During the time of the study, all participants were regularly reviewed to find any benefit of the hemp spray and to measure the safety and tolerance level of the patients using the hemp spray.
The patients who used the hemp spray experienced a decrease in pain as well as other symptoms that are associated with chemotherapy. These include insomnia and fatigue. The researchers also added that no safety concerns arose during the trial and that the patients did not experience any new side effects.
–PuraPhy Staff Report
Reference: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0885392412004393