Could medical marijuana have saved pop music icon David Bowie?

Singer songwriter, David Bowie, managed to keep his illness nearly completely under wraps, letting only a handful of those closest to him know about the cancer, that would eventually take his life at the age of 69. The news of Bowie’s passing shocked the community, as hardly anyone knew he was sick, let alone terminally ill.

The music icon was diagnosed with liver cancer around 18-months ago. The type of treatment he received remains unknown. However, The Australian reports that in the weeks leading up to Bowie’s death he “began an experimental cancer treatment that he hoped would save his life.”⁽¹⁾

This photo was taken just days before Bowie’s death.

Bowie was a long-time smoker, as well as a heavy drug user during his earlier years, which quite possibly could have contributed to his cancer diagnosis.

Bowie explored experimental cancer treatment weeks before his death

“He was feeling unwell but he wasn’t making a fuss about it,” said film and theatre producer, Robert Fox. “He was about to start a new treatment that was quite experimental and that had had some success in other people. He felt optimistic about it being able to prolong his life, hopefully in the belief that there would be better and newer treatments that would come along.”

Given that 92 percent of patients in California say medical marijuana helps alleviate symptoms of chronic illness, including cancer, one has to wonder whether or not this all-natural treatment could have saved Bowie.⁽²⁾

Medical marijuana has proven to help treat a variety of cancers, including liver cancer. Just last year, researchers with the National Institutes of Health discovered that Hepatocellular Carcinoma, one of the most common and deadly forms of liver cancer which is often caused by alcohol abuse, among other things, could be treated using natural and synthetic cannabinoids.

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Studies show marijuana could be useful in treating liver cancer

“By utilizing synthetic cannabinoids on the damaged cell lines, the scientists discovered that even man-made cannabinoids inhibited the growth of Hepatocellular Carcinoma,  leading to a healthier liver and cell cycle arrest,” according to marijuana.com.⁽³⁾

“These results suggested that cannabinoid receptor agonists, including WIN, may be considered as novel therapeutics for the treatment of HCC,” researchers said.

The attitude towards marijuana, medicinal and recreational, is quickly evolving in the U.S., with 23 states now having legalized the all-natural drug. Even the American Cancer Society recognizes its benefits, writing that the plant has various “biologically active components,” useful for treating life-threatening illnesses and chronic diseases.

Not only is medical pot effective, it seems to work when nothing else will.

Pot kills tumor cells, study finds

Bolstering the acceptance of medical marijuana is the fact that the majority of doctors stand behind pot as an effective treatment. According to The Washington Post, a 2013 survey released by the New England Journal of Medicine, revealed that close to 8-in-10 doctors now approve of the use of medical marijuana.

The results are significant considering the mounting research on cancer and medical pot.

“Christina Sanchez, a molecular biologist from Compultense University in Madrid, Spain, has been studying the molecular activity of cannabinoids for more than 10 years, and during this time she and her colleagues have learned that tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the primary psychoactive component of cannabis, induces tumor cell “suicide” while leaving healthy cells alone,” Natural News reported.⁽⁴⁾

Researchers stumbled upon their findings during the observation of brain cancer cells. In the process, scientists witnessed the response of brain cancer cells when exposed to THC, which not only stopped the cancer cells from multiplying, but also destroyed tumoral cells in both lab tests and animal studies.

Based on the research regarding medical marijuana and cancer, including terminal cancer, it seems reasonable to believe that Bowie could have benefited from the herb. But who knows? It’s impossible to know what treatments the music icon may have tried, considering he withheld the diagnosis from many who knew him.

One thing is for sure though, as medical marijuana becomes legal in more places, supporters will enjoy the luxury of watching its unprecedented healing effects unfold.

Sources:

(1) TheAustralian.com

(2) WashingtonPost.com

(3) Marijuana.com

(4) Naturalnews.com

(5) BBC.com

(6) Cancer.org