The Importance of Sharing Cannabis Use Amid Treatment with Your Doctor
- Actor Tommy Chong, 85, was diagnosed with prostate cancer and rectal cancer. He underwent surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy to treat his prostate cancer. He also admitted to using medical marijuana without telling his doctor. However, he later solely focused on doctor-prescribed treatment to reach remission.
- While smoking poses many health risks, including some cancers, some cancer patients have turned to cannabis to help with their recovery and manage symptoms. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “has not approved a marketing application for cannabis for the treatment of any disease or condition.” The agency has approved limited “cannabis-derived” treatments, however.
- SurvivorNet experts such as Dr. Raja Flores say smoking cannabis can be linked to lung cancer, and its smoke may contain the same carcinogens as cigarettes – a known cancer risk factor.
- Cannabis users diagnosed with cancer are encouraged to share their smoking habits with their doctor.
’80s actor Tommy Chong’s first big splash into Hollywood was in the film, “Up in Smoke.” Ironically, many years after the release of that movie, he turned to cannabis to help him manage prostate cancer treatment.
Chong, 85, underwent chemotherapy and radiation to treat his cancer when he was diagnosed in 2008. However, he admitted to not telling his doctors during treatment he smoked marijuana.
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“But as far as the treating it with (cannabis) suppositories and that, they’re all for it,” he continued.
According to research published in the Journal of the Advanced Practitioner in Oncology, cannabis suppositories are a form of medical marijuana.
“Suppositories could be helpful for palliative care, patients who cannot swallow, gastrointestinal illness, and for healing skin damaged by rectal radiation,” researchers Deena Damsky Dell and Dr. Daniel P. Stein said in their study.
They add that, “In general, medical marijuana is considered safe and well tolerated.”
While smoking poses many health risks, including some cancers, some cancer patients have turned to cannabis to help with their recovery. About 40% of breast cancer patients use cannabis, according to a 2021 study, and most patients who use the drug report doing so to relieve symptoms associated with treatment, such as pain, anxiety, insomnia, and nausea/vomiting.
Despite some positives cannabis may bring, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “has not approved a marketing application for cannabis for the treatment of any disease or condition.” However, the FDA has approved a cannabis-derived drug, “Epidiolex (cannabidiol), and three synthetic cannabis-related drug products, Marinol (dronabinol), Syndros (dronabinol) and Cesamet (nabilone).”
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Chong said one of the benefits of cannabis was that it affected his “mental state.”
“Instead of moaning and groaning about what you have, you start listening to music and reading books, and you get very creative. It takes the brain off, ‘The glass is half-empty,’ and puts it on ‘The glass is half-full,'” he said.
“I was on ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ bragging about treating my cancer with marijuana, and then I started getting symptoms of colorectal cancer. I went to the doctor, and yes, indeed, I did have a tumor. It was as if the cancer Gods said, ‘No, we’ll give you something real to treat,” Chong explained to UCLA Health.
Helping You Understand the Cancer Risks from Smoking
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- Cigarette Sales Increase for the First Time in 20 Years On the Heels Of Lung Cancer Awareness Month; Understand the Risk of Smoking
- Does Smoking Marijuana Cause Lung Cancer?
- Does Smoking Marijuana Cause Lung Cancer? Top Experts Tell SurvivorNet a Public Health Crisis is Coming
- I Don’t Make People Feel Bad About Smoking: A Thoracic Surgeon’s Perspective
Why You Should Tell Your Doctor If You Use Cannabis
Although some experts disagree with cannabis use, SurvivorNet understands it is legal in parts of the country, and there are some medicinal uses for using it. If you are using cannabis, Dr. Brian Berman, professor of family community medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, says users should tell their doctor about their smoking habits.
“I think that you should always tell whichever therapy we’re talking about, you should always inform your oncologist and your physician this is (using cannabis) what you’re doing,” Dr. Berman tells SurvivorNet.
Each state has its own requirements for obtaining a medical marijuana card. If you live in a state where medical marijuana use is legal and you think it might be the right treatment for you, start by talking to your doctor.
“Medical cannabis, if you think about it, is only botanical medicine that can help nausea, increase appetite, decrease pain, and elevate mood,” Dr. Junella Chin, an integrative cannabis physician in New York, tells SurvivorNet.
Dr. Chin says she often sees patients seeking relief from the side effects of chemotherapy, which may include nausea, pain, decreased appetite, and depression. She says some physicians prescribe Marinol, or synthetic cannabis, to treat these side effects. However, she believes using the actual cannabis plant is much more helpful when used to relieve symptoms.
The cancer risks associated with smoking cigarettes are well documented. However, some experts believe with conviction that cancer risks extend to smoking cannabis as well. Dr. Raja Flores, who is the Chairman of the Department of Thoracic Surgery for Mount Sinai Health System, is among those who believe cannabis fuels cancer risks. “Smoking marijuana likely causes lung cancer independent of cigarette smoking status,” Dr. Flores told SurvivorNet.
“I do think for cigarettes, there is a genetic predisposition to get lung cancer. As well as a genetic predisposition for substance abuse. So, it would not surprise me that there is a genetic link to lung cancer from smoking weed,” Dr. Flores continued.
“As someone on the front lines, who sees this every day, I’ve seen lung cancer caused by marijuana that is incredibly aggressive,” Dr. Flores previously told SurvivorNet.
“There is no really good population-based study that looks at marijuana smoking, and that has had enough time elapsed to show it’s associated with lung cancer, [but] I’ve seen it. I’ve seen multiple cases of it. I see it every day,” he added.
Chong’s Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
Chong was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008 while attempting to begin a human growth hormone.
“I was going to go on human growth hormone, but before you do that, you have to do a cancer scan and make sure you don’t have cancer. They checked my PSA levels, and it was very high, and I found out I had prostate cancer. After a biopsy, I soon learned I had rectal cancer too,” Chong explained to Movember, a charity focused on men’s health.
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Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. It starts in the walnut-shaped prostate gland between the rectum and bladder, producing the fluid that nourishes sperm. Fortunately, most prostate cancer is caught with screening examinations.
Rectal cancer can be grouped under the umbrella term colorectal cancer, which includes cancer of the colon or rectum.
After Chong’s diagnosis, he said he didn’t hesitate to tell others about it.
“When I got cancer, I told everyone. I was on CNN that night and revealed to Don Lemon I just found out I had prostate cancer,” Chong said.
Chong underwent treatment to remove the tumor soon after it was discovered.
“I underwent radiation for about a month and then had surgery,” Chong said.
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“I was on chemo pills, 20 days on and then a week off. It was a short struggle,” he added.
The treatment helped Chong rid himself of the disease. However, in its wake, he said he had to be fitted for a colostomy bag.
“I’m making the best of it (colostomy bag – attaches to an opening in your stomach to collect waste). I use it in my comedy act,” Chong said.
After undergoing cancer treatment, Chong said the biggest lesson he’s learned from the experience is, “If you suspect there’s something wrong, go get checked out immediately.”
More on Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer does not always behave the same in every man it impacts. The cancer can be considered “low-risk” and can be slow-growing, and treatment might not be necessary. In other men, the cancer may grow faster or more aggressively, requiring more immediate treatment. Because of this, there is some debate about screening.
The United States Preventive Services Taskforce recommends men at average risk between the ages of 55-69 years old should talk with their doctor about the pros and cons of prostate cancer screening.
When you do get screened for prostate cancer, your doctor will run a few tests.
One of the tests is the PSA test, a simple blood test that screens for prostate cancer. It looks for larger amounts of protein-specific antigen (PSA) in the blood. An elevated PSA test does not always mean you have prostate cancer. It could also reflect that your prostate is enlarged, which is common, or it could signal an infection or inflammation.
Your doctor may also conduct a digital rectal exam (DRE) to check your prostate for lumps.
Depending on the results of these tests, imaging scans and a biopsy may be ordered.
WATCH: How Gleason Grade Determines Treatment
After tests, your doctor analyzes the results to give you a Gleason Score. This score ranges from 6 to 10. The higher the score, the more aggressive the cancer.
This score, along with your other test results, helps doctors determine if your cancer is “low risk,” “intermediate risk,” or “high risk.”
The American Cancer Society recommends men at age 50 who are at average risk begin screening. Men who are at high risk of prostate cancer should begin screening at age 40. Men with a close relative diagnosed with prostate cancer should consider annual screenings in their 30s.
Most doctors agree that men over the age of 70 do not need screening.
SurvivorNet experts suggested that men consider factors like their family history, genes, and age when deciding whether and when to screen.
Symptoms of prostate cancer may include:
- Urinating more often
- Waking up in the middle of the night to pee
- Blood in your urine
- Trouble getting an erection
- Pain or burning when you urinate
- Pain in your back, hips, thighs, or other bones
- Unexplained weight loss
- Fatigue
Questions for Your Doctor
If you have experienced symptoms associated with prostate cancer or have a screening coming up, here are some questions you may ask your doctor:
- If I have elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, what could be causing that besides cancer?
- How long will it take to learn if my PSA levels warrant further testing?
- What are the treatment options that are best suited for me based on my risk level?
- What financial resources exist to help me with the costs associated with treatment?
- How long will my potential treatment prevent me from working or continuing normal activities?
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