Cancer and cancer treatment regularly appears as a qualifying condition for medical cannabis, and a number of studies have confirmed the potential for cannabis to aid in reducing the growth or killing cancer cells. While we’re still catching up on cannabis research as a whole, pertaining to cancer and otherwise, the link is well established.
Still, especially for cancer patients, there are limited resources in understanding exactly how cannabis use may aid in their treatment. Patients are often left to turn to online forums or budtenders for advice, which often don’t lead to optimal results. Dr. Joe Goldstrich hopes to change that with his new book, offering a resource for cancer patients in tackling their illness and treatment with cannabis.
The freshly launched book, “The Cannabis Cancer Connection,” aims to provide “critical science-backed guidance for using cannabis not only to ameliorate the symptoms of cancer but hopefully eradicate it,” Goldstrich said via a recent news release.
Goldstrich has worked in traditional medicine, cardiology and explored unconventional wellness approaches over his six-decade career in medicine. Over the last 10 years, he’s worked largely with cancer patients working to incorporate cannabis into their treatment.
“In writing this book, he hopes to begin bridging the gap between real medical research and the lay practices patients already use to help people overcome their cancer and live longer, fuller lives,” Goldstrich’s bio for the book reads.
According to the release, there are more than 400 references supporting the science behind cannabis and its ability to act as a cancer-killing medicine. Of course, that volume of research is not the most accessible to any given cancer patient. With the new book, Goldstrich aims to present this vast array of studies in easy-to-understand language, supported by case histories and insights from personal experience.
The hope is that the book will provide patients, doctors, healthcare professionals and researchers with a solid toolbelt, better equipped with the full arsenal of knowledge surrounding cancer treatment and cannabis use, including best practices and protocols. While the focus is on cannabis, the book also dives into current information on psychology, diet, exercise and off-label drugs as complimentary, therapeutic tools to help increase patient odds of beating cancer.
Goldstrich also looks deeper at the interaction of specific cannabinoids with different types of cancer cells, when to avoid cannabis use in cancer care and key drug interactions that patients and medical professionals may not know about.
While the book will be a useful resource for individual patients, those in the medical field are already sharing praise for the invaluable resource, adding a more accessible bank of knowledge on the topic for patients and professionals alike.
Dr. Dustin Sulak, who works in orthopedic medicine, concurred that the current evidence points to a future road where cannabis-derived treatments act as “effective adjunctive, and in some situations, first-line” strategies to kill cancer.
“This book also recognizes that patients with cancer are not willing or able to wait for a decade of forthcoming research – they need a compendium of today’s most relevant information, distilled by a medical expert with real-world experience and translated into a guide accessible to both clinicians and lay people,” Sulak said. “Fortunately, you hold such a book in your hand.”
Dr. Barry Gordon similarly nodded to the book as a resource for patients and providers, nodding specifically to those working with medical cannabis.
“Rare is the ability to speak to both doctors and patients, but Dr. Joe threads the needle. This book is a must-read for every medical cannabis provider,” Gordon said.
“The Cannabis Cancer Connection” was officially release on Oct. 17, 2023 and at the time of writing is the #1 New Release in Medical Research on Amazon.
