HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

Hi, All,
I have been checking in from time to time...things are quite good here.

I just read an article I thought would be of interest in light of the fact patient testimonials are increasingly abundant and positive of the treatment and curative properties of cannabis. It is my fervent hope that cannabis oil, in its proper ratio, will be decriminalized for all those who wish to partake.
And that on a federal level, it will be covered by insurance as a useful tool in the treatment of breast cancer.

We can all look to Stefanie LaRue, who eradicated metastatic cancer from her body with the use of the oil. And thousands of others.

Wishing you all the best 2015, the best year yet,
Love
Karen

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

Karen, I know someone who takes it for control of a brain tumor. Mentioned this to my onc this past Thurs and asked @ it as it is now sold in health stores in Michigan...he looked upset and told me not to take it. I am not on any chemo at this time. ????

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

I may have posted this abstract once before ... We all know how long a clinical trial runs ...

Curr Med Chem. 2014 Jun;21(17):1923-30.
Is the clinical use of cannabis by oncology patients advisable?
Bar-Sela G, Avisar A, Batash R, Schaffer M1.
Author information
Abstract
The use of the cannabis plant for various medical indications by cancer patients has been rising significantly in the past few years in several European countries, the US and Israel. The increase in use comes from public demand for the most part, and not due to a scientific basis. Cannabis chemistry is complex, and the isolation and extraction of the active ingredient remain difficult. The active agent in cannabis is unique among psychoactive plant materials, as it contains no nitrogen and, thus, is not an alkaloid. Alongside inconclusive evidence of increased risks of lung and head and neck cancers from prolonged smoking of the plant produce, laboratory evidence of the anti-cancer effects of plant components exists, but with no clinical research in this direction. The beneficial effects of treatment with the plant, or treatment with medicine produced from its components, are related to symptoms of the disease: pain, nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite and weight loss. The clinical evidence of the efficacy of cannabis for these indications is only partial. However, recent scientific data from studies with THC and cannabidiol combinations report the first clinical indication ofcancer-related pain relief. The difficulties of performing research into products that are not medicinal, such as cannabis, have not allowed a true study of the cannabis plant extract although, from the public point of view, such studies are greatly desirable.

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

There are 2 elements in cannibis (maybe more!) one, THC is what makes people stoned and the other is cannabidiol, (I think this is it) and this is what medical people are looking at positively regarding cancer. Obviously most cancer patients don't want to get stoned (ok for pain but not i you're working!) and so they have to separate the helpful element out of it. I read a little about it somewhere but can't remember but it sounded encouraging. We know it's helped people with glaucoma.

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

Hi, Sarah,
Actually, the higher the THC, the better. I first thought the CBD was most important but it is actually the other way around.
Will start taking it as soon as I can get exactly what I need--
Yours,
Karen

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

ok, well that's interesting! Guess we'll get fat but be happy! Good luck, keep us posted.
be well
sarah

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

XOXOXO
Fat? Never, as long as there's yoga and discipline!
How are you all doing there in France?
Karen

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

Unfortunately as a nurse I often get drug tested as well as in the state of California even though I can get a marijuana card , I would lose my nursing license if I got a card .
And I'm a non smoker ( virgin lungs here) but I do love brownies lol.
Now of course if you told me this could save my life I might just have to retire at the ripe age of 46

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

I'm incredibly lucky to live in Washington state for our amazing oncologist and reaearchers, as well as legal cannabis. I have my medical card and basically everything you can think of for THC or CBD treatment, I can get at a reasonable price. I have CBD pills and a oil, as well as edibles that are made in professional kitchens. I can't tell you if they are shrinking my tumor... I'm sure it's the herceptin, but it does help with appetite and to relax. I talked to my oncologist about it and she said she can't tell me if it works or not to treat the growth, but she said I'm welcome to use it however I want.

I wish you all had it available to you!

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

It's all very interesting and I think we'll see a progression of using cannabis more in the future.
For Nurse4u2day: had to smile at your comments. BTW: My dx was Stage IIIC , er/pr neg, Her2 positive also and am a nurse as well. Dxed 10 years this May, NED since that time

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

Hello KDR and all,

I have been off the site for awhile. I too am very interested in the use of cannabis to treat and cure cancer.

I have read some articles and watched a few you tubes.
KDR-you mentioned an article I did not see a link?
Has anyone heard of Cannabis International?

What has me jump back on the site is after 6 years, I found a lump-pea type in my right-side (different side from cancer) scar line about 10 days ago-ultrasound indicates solid not fluid filled and I am having a biopsy this Wednesday.

Hugs!!

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

Cal-Gal,
I didn't make note of that article, sorry. There are so many available.
Hoping for the bet for you,
Karen

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

Thanks Karen!

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

Too bad its the THC that is the active ingredient. Only because I did use pot during my last round of chemo and it was truly a godsend. I live in CA where its legal for medicinal purposes but also have the restrictions job-wise that it's still a federal offense. When I was going through chemo I could give a rip if it became a legal issue. 35 lb weight loss and I wasn't heavy to begin with and very, very sick in the end. But the feeling stoned was an issue. No way I could work using it regularly. I took a puff at night so I could eat. My experience is that it would be hard to still work. I've taken THC via pill and still had that stoned feeling. If they could find a way to deliver it and still be productive, all for it.

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

Found the article I read before posting:
http://www.truthonpot.com/2013/03/09...ancer-therapy/


All the best, to all, always,
Karen

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

Hi Amazing Group,

I found this topic interesting, didn't expect to take it too seriously and then I found this:
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/p.../page4#_26_toc

Wow! This is totally legitimate and looks so efficacious, why isn't there more out there about it?????

Donna

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

Hi Karen,
France is still great. Look me up if you ever get near the Cannes area.
Glad to see people are taking it in pill form not smoking it. smoking would always effect the lungs negatively. Good then that the US is legalizing it.
Julie, I haven't been taking pot but I can tell you, I couldn't have worked during chemo! I was flat on my back and consequently gained 15lbs! Taxol, Herceptin for 6 months, once a week and the anti-allergy drug they gave me made me stoned! The US is fairly puritanical so I would doubt there is any "high" in the medical version!
Be well all of you
A+ as they say here
sarah

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

This is an area my sister and I are excited about! From what we've understood, it's important for the oil (you have to eat the oil not smoke it) to have near equal amounts of THC and CBD.

There's a phase 2 trial about to start in Israel testing the effects of cannabinoids on cancer in humans: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/...&sel_rss=mod14

Here’s all of the other research I know about.

Breast-cancer specific:

August 2011 research from Dr. Sean McAllister on cannabidiol (CBD) inhibiting the spread of breast cancer.
http://www.medscape.com/medline/abstract/20859676
(More on McAllister and his research here.)

A 2010 study on cannabinoids specifically targeting her2
http://www.molecular-cancer.com/content/9/1/196#B4

A February 2006 study found anandamide (a cannabinoid neurotransmitter) inhibited the spread of breast cancer cells.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16343481

A 2011 study on the effect of cannabinoid on chemokine receptor CXCR4: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2...?dopt=Abstract

2007 research by McAllister and Desprez -Cannabidiol as a novel inhibitor of Id-1 gene expression in aggressive breast cancer cell
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18025276


Specific to other cancers:

1974 University of Virginia study found that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) slowed Lewis lung adenocarcinoma and leukemia growth in a dose-dependent relationship: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?c...t_uids=1159836

1998 study from Dr. Manuel Guzmán showed THC induced apoptosis in glioma cells: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9771884

A 2006 study by Dr. Manuel Guzmán found that THC could induce apoptosis in multiple pancreatic cancer cell lines: http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/co...6/13/6748.full

A 2007 Harvard Study demonstrated THC inhibited multiple non-small cell lung cancer lines and reduced tumor weight and volume in mice by 50%.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21097714

A 2003 study showed activation of cannabinoid receptors induced skin cancer cell death: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/16116

1999 study in FEBS Letters found THC induced apoptosis in the PC3 line of prostate cancer: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10570948

A 2011 study of the effects of THC on apoptosis in prostrate cancer.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22110202

June 2003 study demonstrated anandamide (a cannabinoid neurotransmitter) induced apoptosis in multiple prostate cancer cell lines.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12746841

October 2013 research at the University of London, St. Georges, showed that cannabinoids could kill leukemia cells.
http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/3...ract#corresp-1

November 2013 study published in Case Reports in Oncology offers proof that cannabis extracts may be able to kill cancer in a human body.
http://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/356446

A November 2006 study found that liver cancer patients with higher expressions of CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors had much better disease-free survival than patients with lower expressions.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17074588

November 2014 study showing that cannabinoids CBD and THC could shrink aggressive brain cancer.
http://mct.aacrjournals.org/content/...-0402.abstract

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

Rosalie,
Thank you for sharing your research. Israel, Spain, why not US?

Karen

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

I have smoked pot but it makes me paranoid, so I don't really like it. BUT if it would
Cure me or make my body feel better I would smoke it, eat it, or drink it. ��. I wish I knew more.

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

The cannabis oil, or Rick Simpson Oil, is the curative method of the plant. It is oil that is extracted from the plants. No smoking. You can google Rick Simpson Oil or Phoenix Tears to learn more.

Best,
Karen

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

Linn,

Not all types of pot have the same affect. I also hate the paranoid feeling but the variety I took during chemo did not do this at all. I bought about 4 kinds and then stuck with the one that gave me an appetite without the negative side affect

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

By the way, unless someone finds a way to patent a combination of THC and something else, it will never get approved because there wouldn't be any incentive to spend the millions of dollars to fund all the clinical trials and go through the FDA approval process unless you can patent the drug. I think it's about a million dollars just to have FDA review your application.

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

Google "Rick Simpson Cannabis Oil"

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

I went to a medical marijuana lecture and the doctor said that it is the CBD's that affect cancer positively especially if you are Her2+, he advised staying away from marijuana if your cancer is hormone positive. Our bodies have their own cannaboid system, and cannaboids are found in breastmilk. It is the THC component that makes one high and also lowers blood pressure. I already have low blood pressure. The clinical trial due to start in Israel soon is only testing CBD - so you do not have to worry about getting high.

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

Thanks for that information, Fern. It's complicated. Conflicting. At first I thought it was CBDs, which would make sense as the cells have CBD receptors. Then, I was told I was wrong, that it's the THC, and the high THC level that matters most. It is not for smoking, it's ingesting only. Some people have taken to making suppositories so avoid the fatigue and sleepiness altogether. Good to hear from you. Haven't started it yet myself because I still don't feel I've gotten all the information I need to do it "right."

Love
Karen

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

Thanks Karen, you are amazing, we will figure it out. I am still not doing any chemo, just natural stuff. I do have another brain met 4mm, which I am going to radiate at UCLA. My markers have just been climbing, CEA 111, and interestingly CA125 is now 358 - but an HE4 test was in the normal range. I am feeling great, doing Doxycyclin, LDN and sometimes Metformin.

Sending love, and still looking at CBD's
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/s...cr=Open&rank=5

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

Search Donald Abrams and Cannabis on YouTube. Dr. Donald Abrams is the Chief of Oncology and Hematology at San Francisco General Hospital. He puts a little umph in it all. His friends (other Doctors) are on these videos, too. Best wishes. He just published a paper about Cancer and Cannabis. He's been trying to publish one for years. It just became main street enough to be accepted.

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

I was her2nu in florida so couldn't do cannabis. Now bcc skin cancer. I am also a lawyer here and I am going to specialize in cannabis to help us and others and kids with brain rumors. I know it cures some cancers and helps with other symptoms. So anything I can for anyone here in florida let me know. This is one of my missions. Thank you for all your support and for being open here.

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

Hi Waterdreamer, My heart goes out to you. I hope you are still with us.

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

Let me clarify a bit on cannabis. I have been working with a researcher who is very well versed on cannabis. Here is what we know.


For HER2+ disease, there is an 80% likelihood that tumors will overexpress CB2 receptors. This is the receptor that THC targets. So for HER2+ disease a 1:1 ratio of CBD to THC is recommended. Usually around 125 mg of CBD to 125 THC in a 24 hours period.



However, for the other 20% that does not overexpress CB2 receptors THC can actually make the cancer grow much more quickly. This is because THC actually suppresses the immune system. Fro thoser tumors that overexpress CB2 that isn't a problem because the THC is shutting down the tumor by binding with CB2. BUT for cancer that does NOT overexpress the CB2 receptors that immune suppression allows the cancer to explode and grow. This is what is being seen in women. This is particularly true for women who have hormone positive disease. Hormone positive breast cancer is less likely to overexpress HER2 in the tumor. And it is more likely to grow with the addition of THC.


The recommendation for hormone positive disease is higher CBD than THC. The usual recommendation is 125 mg CBD and 25 mg THC .


The old Rick Simpson recommendation of a gram a day and high in THC only worked for HER2+ disease or in disease that had an overexpression of CB2 receptors. But it didn't work for everyone else and often caused greater growth. For the most part this Rick Simpson Protocol has been debunked by the true research.



CB1 is the receptor hit by CBD oil. This seems to be a good target for everyone regardless of hormone status or HER2 status. But as things are being learned, it appears that CBD doesn't work as well unless there is SOME THC also. And what seems to be working for women is about 4:1 or 5:1 CBD to THC with 125 mg of CBD and 25 mg of THC.



My own experience is still shaking my world. I had HER2+ hormone negative disease in 2016, and had surgery in October of the same year. I was told that I had a 35-40% chance of recurrence within 5 years. I did a LOT of research! (I am an Organic/Biochem gal by training, education and trade) A few months after y surgery and the end of treatment, I decided to add cannabis oil to my life (against everything I have ever believed about cannabis). Because i had no way to monitor the effect of cannabis on my cancer (I was considered cancer free so there was nothing to monitor for effectiveness) I wasn't keen on trying the higher THC protocol. I decided to take 125 mg of CBD and 20-25 mg of THC in a 24 hour period. I never dreamed there would be a way to know if it was helping keep my cancer at bay.



However, last December when I had my yearly MRI, They found a new spot in the tumor bed. It was biopsied and found to be a very very rare kind of cell. It is rare and even when it is found, it is usually in young women. BUT it wasn't cancer and I was elated!



Then the researcher that I have been working with, asked if she could share my pathology report with Dr. Sanchez in Spain. Dr. Sanchez is a researcher working on cannabis and cancer. I consented as long as my name wasn't included. Dr. Sanchez was excited about my biopsy because she said this kind of cell is exactly what she finds when she treats breast cancer with cannabis. She felt my pathology report was the proof of what she sees in her lab.



I can't prove it. IT could be just a really big coincidence. But it would be one in a million if it is a coincidence. What are the chances of finding this particular kind of cell exactly in the tumor bed? Very rare indeed.


I personally do believe that the cannabis kept my cancer from returning. My oncologist admitted she was very very surprised that my cancer hasn't returned. She thought I would recur within the first year. with my ONCO DX score of 79, it was off the charts literally. Everyone assumed I would recur quickly. But it has been 20 months and I am still cancer free......even if I DO have those rare cells in the tumor bed!



Anyway, the research on cannabis is ongoing. It is hard for women and others to keep up on the latest research on it. And it is even harder to ferret out the differences in Breast Cancer and how each component of cannabis must be tailored to the kind of Breast cancer. It IS NOT a one size fits all!



And one more thing. Cannabis is NOT safe to take with some cancer medications. There have been cases of death by women who took cannabis while taking other cancer medications. Cannabis uses some of the same breakdown pathways as other drugs. This means that cannabis can make other medications increase in concentration in the body. And sometimes those can be dangerous at higher levels. You can use a "drug checker" to check for interactions but cannabis is rarely found in those drug checkers. It is possible to use "grapefruit" as a surrogate for cannabis when using the drug checkers. But my advice would be to seek out a knowledgeable cannabis doctor or nurse who knows which medications interact with cannabis.

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

p.s. very very very little is absorbed with rectal use. It is literally "flushing $$$ down the toilet" There have been some studies where the blood level of cannabis was monitored after oral ingestion, And also after rectal administration. The oral use saw an increase in the blood concentration, while the rectal did not. The reason there is no ""high" after rectal administration? That is because it simply ish't absorbed (at least not much is)

Re: HER-2 Positive & Triple Negative = Cannabis Intervention
 

Thank you so much for your information! (I'm another Biochemistry gal ... :). I work in the biotechnology field (primarily in the drug discovery/ product development side) and our company has a dispensary across the street (it's in plain view with valet parking, etc so it's VERY busy) so I know what people in the biotech/ pharma field feel about cannabis and there is so much shame associated with using it. I personally use cannabis because I believe in the research being done. The largest country doing clinical trials with cannabis is Israel. My cancer was extensive and in my lymph nodes (4 macro tumors) and I've remained cancer free. I have no way to associate it with cannabis but it's safer than a glass of wine at night :)

-Julie