Skin cancer is a particularly common variety of cancer, with an estimated 5.4 million cases diagnosed annually. This figure is more than the cases of lung, breast, colon, and prostate cancer, combined!
Skin cancer forms on the top layer(aka the epidermis) of the skin. There are 3 kinds of cells in the skin’s epidermis:
- Melanocytes,
- Squamous cells
- Basal cells.
When a DNA cellular mutation occurs, a mass of cancer cells can grow in the location. Investigating where the skin cancer started tells you what kind of skin cancer you have and what your treatment options are.
Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from tanning, sun exposure, or lights in tanning beds is a common cause of skin cancer. UV radiation can cause significant damage to the DNA of your skin cells, years of exposure can lead to skin carcinomas. Skin cancer can also develop on parts of your body that don’t receive exposure to UV radiation.
Other factors can put you at risk for developing skin cancer, such as:
- Having a weak immune system
- Exposure to carcinogenic chemicals
- Fair skin
- Having a history of sunburns
- Prolonged sun exposure
- Living in sunny climates
- Moles
- Exposure to radiation
- Family history of skin cancer
- Exposure to HPV virus.
- Smoking
The prognosis for skin carcinomas depends largely on early diagnosis. Treatment options will depend on the type and stage of cancer, size of the tumor, and overall health of the person. If detected early enough, surgery may be sufficient in treating the carcinoma. For more advanced cases, chemotherapy and/or radiation may be needed.
How Can Cannabis Help?
Being diagnosed with carcinoma is terrifying, as are all different kinds of cancers. But having access to cannabis can improve prognosis and help patients restore the quality of their life. A study done by the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute showed that cannabinoids helped in reducing skin carcinoma by up to 90% over a span of a 20-week treatment regime.
The researchers were using synthetic cannabinoids, but we can say that using the real thing would be way more potent and effective. They studied skin carcinomas on rats over a course of 20 weeks. In this study, they discovered that when cannabinoids were given to them, skin cancer was dramatically reduced and the tumor growth was also slowed.
Another study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology studied rats with melanoma cancer cells. The rats were administered a combination of both CBD and THC. The researchers found that the combination of THC and CBD was very effective in killing melanoma cells. Cannabinoids were beneficial for treating melanoma because of their ability to initiate apoptosis and autophagy two processes that cause cell death.
CBD oil
Anecdotal Evidence
One of the most famous cases is that of Rick Simpson, who was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma and applied a potent cannabis extract directly on his skin. To his surprise, it worked. His story became famous globally, and he now has his oil recipes up for everyone to access as well as useful information on cancer and other illnesses up on his website.
Aside from cannabis oil, using a transdermal patch also gives skin cancer patients high hopes for treatment. Transdermal patches are a good way to provide the skin with a steady dose of cannabis as well as a controlled release for the cannabinoids needed to act on the cancer