IS CANNABIS THE ANSWER?
Many people know how cannabis can help cancer patients through side effects of chemotherapy treatment, but it can also help those affected by brain cancer. Compounds found in cannabis, called cannabinoids, have been shown to reduce tumor cell growth in cancer.
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BY HEATHER DEROSE
A brain tumor is a mass or growth of abnormal cells in the brain. There are many different types of brain tumors. Tumors can be noncancerous (benign), and others are cancerous (malignant) and can begin in your brain (primary brain) or cancer from another part of your body can spread to your brain (metastic tumor). According to the American Brain Tumor Association, over 700,000 Americans are living with a brain tumor today, and only about 32 percent of brain and central nervous system tumors are malignant. Over 28,000 children in the U.S. are fighting brain tumors today, and nearly 16,000 people will die as a result of a brain tumor this year. Among children ages 0-14, brain tumors are the second most common cancer and are the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in this age group. Doctors are still unsure why some cells begin to form tumor cells. They believe it may have to do with the genes, the environment, or a combination of both factors.
