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Chemotherapy: Uses and Abuses

            
             There are a lot of treatments for chemotherapy that have all been found to be very successful. Depending on what type of cancer a person has depends on what type of chemotherapy would work for them. A few forms include radiation therapy, which is where a high stream of high energy waves of protons is used to destroy or damage any cancer cells in the body. This is the only form of treatment for certain types of cancer including head and neck cancers. There are some side effects with radiation such as fatigue, loss of appetite, skin damage and hair loss. A person usually has to go through radiation for several treatments in order for the therapy to get destroy all of the cancerous cells. .
             2. Head and neck cancers along with breast, cervix, lung, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, Hodgkins disease and non-melanoma skin cancers can be treated with radiation therapy. Radiation therapy can be given either externally or internally. External radiation uses a high energy wave of protons aimed at the cancerous cells and surrounding tissues and either destroy completely or damage the cancerous cells. Internal radiation uses an "implant" which is a wire secured in a small container which is radioactive. The implant is then placed directly at the cancerous site. The implant is used a lot after a person goes through a surgery to have the cancer removed. The doctor puts the implant in to kill off any cancerous cells which may have been missed in the surgery. Any form of radiation, whether it is internal or external, is most successful on rapidly dividing cells. Photons and particulate are the two major types of ionizing radiations. Depending on what type of cancer a person has, one may be more successful. The most common side effects from radiation therapy include skin damage, loss of appetite and fatigue. .
             3. Biological/Immunotherapy is a treatment that stimulates a person's natural immune system so that it starts fighting the cancer.


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Merrill of the Opium Research Committee wrote: "While numerous crimes [have been] traced to its abuse, its peculiar virulent effect, leading sometimes to insanity, makes its use dangerous to the individuals and to society in general . . . ... Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 1991). ... Marijuana is most commonly used to reduce nausea and vomiting caused by cancer chemotherapy. ... For many patients, when a few puffs of marijuana are smoked before chemotherapy treatment, the extreme nausea can be eliminated, allowing them to continue their chemotherapy use, and possib...

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2. Marijuana

The chemotherapy has side effects and the one that the marijuana helps is the vomiting. ... The laws do not distinguish between legitimate medical need and illegal drug ABUSE. ... Cancer chemotherapy can often prolong the patient's life by several years. ... Patients sometimes find these effects so distressing they abandon chemotherapy entirely. ... Marijuana helps aid chemotherapy patients that have advanced side effects. ...

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3. Legalizing Marijuana

As a Schedule I drug, marijuana is considered to have no current accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Yet there are people who want this drug to become a Schedule II drug, which would declare the drug to have current accepted medical use but will still be considered to have a high potential for abuse. ... Further medications, such as certain steroids and minor tranquilizers, have proven safe and effective for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, usually when used in conjunction with another anti-nausea drug. ... Marijuana is not useful as a treatment for c...

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4. Legalization of Marijuana

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5. Legalizing Marijuana

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6. No to Pot

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7. Legalization Of Marijuana

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8. Legalized marrijuana

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9. Legalizing Marijuana

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