The Endocannabinoid System (and why you should care)

You WANT to know about the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) inside of you.   I want to explain it in a simplified way for those that just want an overview and then a more detailed way for those who want more in depth info.  But please, take the time to know about this system because it isn't even being taught in most medical schools (more on that later).

ECS Simplified
This is a system within our bodies like the Central Nervous System.  It is a Central Regulatory System.  According to Vincenzo Di Marzo, PhD in Italy, "the endocannabinoid system allows us to 'eat, sleep, relax, protect and forget.'"  This system helps control so many other systems within our bodies but its general, main goal is to provide homeostasis, the maintenance of a stable internal environment despite fluctuations in the external environment.  It makes you feel good, healthy and it helps fight off disease which make you feel the opposite of healthy.

The ECS is a modulator/regulator of physiological functions in the central nervous system, the autonomic nervous system, the endocrine network, the immune system, the gastrointestinal tract, the reproductive system, in microcirculation, and the cytokine network, which is the source of inflammation and the cause of nearly if not all disease. Raphael Mechoulam, whose team discovered the endocannabinoid system in 1987, states, "There is barely a biological or physiological system in our bodies in which the endocannabinoids do not participate."  It's everywhere.  

Here is an article YOU NEED TO READ.  It is a simplified article on the ECS.  Now, it is from a site called Truth On Pot/Leaf Science but the references they list are valid.  Check the facts out for yourself like I did.   


Here is a brief history of when the system was identified (from Medscape.com).

• 1988 - Cannabinoid-binding sites in rat brains identified
• 1991 - Human cannabinoid receptor CB1 successfully cloned
• 1992 - Discovery of the first endocannabinoid, arachidonoyl ethanolamide, later named anandamide (a Sanskrit word for “internal bliss”)^[2]
• 1993 - Peripheral CB2 receptor cloned
• 1995 - Discovery of a second endocannabinoid, 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG)

In the 21^st century, new discoveries of other endocannabinoids, their site distributions, and roles are deepening our understanding of the endocannabinoid system.

And check this out.  The ECS System is listed as a reference for kids:  http://www.reference4kids.com/science/organ_systems_endocannabinoid_system.html

Do you have 6 minutes and 7 seconds?  Watch this video by The University of Kansas.  It is complex but if you hang in there, you realize how important this system is to our bodies.  I'm still searching for a video with a more simplified explanation.  

So what if your body is not making enough of its own cannabinoids?  "When the body's own endocannabinoids are diminished, this causes a function issue within the body's systems. Our bodies run on cannabinoids, some people don't produce enough, like a diabetic with insulin."

ECS In Depth
Here are articles I HIGHLY suggest you take a look at to understand more about the ECS.


National Center for Biotechnology Information explains the Endocannabinoid System
Yes, the government knows about this system.

Discovery of the Endocannabinoid System
Good old Wikipedia weighs in.

The Endocannabinoid System: An Osteopathic Perspective
From the Journal of American Osteopathic Association


Survey shows low acceptance of endocannabinoid system in medical schools:
http://www.outwordmagazine.com/inside-outword/glbt-news/1266-survey-shows-low-acceptance-of-the-science-of-the-ecs-endocannabinoid-system


Since the discovery of anandamide in 1992, over 3500 publications have reported new data on the biological role of the endogenous cannabinoid system.

When the body's own endocannabinoids are diminished, this causes a function issue within the body's systems. Our bodies run on cannabinoids, some people don't produce enough, like a diabetic with insulin.

Cannabis kills Cancer

I began my research in July 2013.  Since then, so many NEW studies have emerged.  I was trying to locate the studies I read in July so I used my same google search: cannabis kills cancer.  I was happily surprised to see that just a month ago, October 25, around the one month anniversary of my mom's death, a new study came out which news site after news site reported on.  The door is opening.  The pendulum swings.  Answers and truth are right around the corner.

I typed the title of this blog into google today.  Here are the results I received:

From October 25, 2013
Marijuana Compounds Can Kill Some Cancer Cells: Study
Huffington Post

From October 28, 2013
Study: Marijuana Compounds Can Kill Some Cancer Cells
Time Magazine

From October 29, 3013
Marijuana Might Kill Cancer
Newsweek

From October 30, 2013
Cannabis and Cannabinoids (PDQ)
National Cancer Institute
They have since updated as of 10/30/2013.  I first discovered this information in July 2013.  The best part of this article is reading all of the references listed at the end.

The Truth I Discovered While Looking the Other Way

After my mom's diagnosis, there was no time for a lesson in breast cancer.  Most patients go through one day of learning.  They attend an all day meeting with other cancer patients and doctors.  They are educated on what is happening, how breast cancer works, etc.  Then, everyone breaks for lunch and the doctors come up with a plan.  Upon return, the doctors share the plan of attack.   By the time my mom met with her oncologist, June 20, we were down by 100 points and in the 4th quarter.  There was even less time than her oncologist thought.  He originally told us, "This is not curable but we will attack and try to keep the cancer quiet for as long as we can.  We have to move fast.  Three chemo meds...starting on Monday.  We have to be aggressive."

After my mom's blood was drawn and she was sent home, she received a phone call telling her to come back to the hospital.  She was in liver failure.  Chemo would start the next day after a port was placed.

Needless to say, this was all terrifying.  Everything I learned, I learned on my own through questions, the internet and the materials we were given.   I grew up in a split family home.  Visits to dad were every other weekend and I was with mom most of the time.  At my dad's, if someone didn't know the answer to something, we looked it up.  I hated that.  "Let me get the almanac," my dad was always saying.  Or the dictionary or he made a phone call.  The point was that the answer had to be found.  Now, I operate the same way.

My mom lost her appetite and had incredible nausea.  Several people coyly offered weed.  I immediately refused.  Yes, marijuana was something I experienced in college but since becoming a Christian in 2003, I was the furthest from it.  This was not something I wanted for my mom.  In fact, I didn't think anyone should have access to it.  It was just another reason to get high.  Another excuse.  Another abuse.  I remember voting against medical marijuana.  I remember feeling so disgusted when all the dispenseries opened.  I remember feeling victorious when most closed back down.

Marijuana was NOT an option.

I started researching to find out more about triple negative breast cancer.  What I found was ugly.  It is the most aggressive of the breast cancers.  It reacts well to the chemo at first and then becomes immune.  There was nothing that could really stop it.

I sent an e-mail around the time of my mom's initial diagnosis to my crunchy friends asking for direction.  They suggested Young Living Essential Oils.  All of the stories they sent me, validating the effectiveness of the oils to kill cancer or help jump start the immune system sounded great!  But where was the actual research?  I couldn't find any.  There is a woman on the net that did research on all of the essential oils on the market and more questions were raised then laid to rest.  What is the concentration of the oils?  How pure were they?  Where were the ingredients coming from?  How exactly do the oils kill cancer?  Where is the clinical research?  I mean, personal accounts are great but can I contact the people who are making these claims?  Is there any medical support?

I found essential oils to be a dead end.

Here is a simplified trail of where my research led:
Foods that fight cancer
Changing your diet
The Gerson Diet
Essential Oils
Orange Oil
Candida
Side effects of Chemo
How to help side effects of chemo
White Blood Count
Mucositis/Thrush

cancer cure

HIV is being used as a possible cure for cancer

Triple Negative Research search

July 13th searches:

triple negative breast cancer clinical trials - Google Search

Breast Cancer Treatment (PDQ®) - National Cancer Institute

Chemotherapy breakthrough could dramatically reduce side-effects | Science | The Guardian

elevated bilirubin - Google Search

FDA approves 'smart bomb' against breast cancer | The Advisory Board Daily Briefing

Metastatic Lung Cancer Fatal Adventure with Chemo & Smart Bombs - YouTube

July 14 searches:

elevated bilirubin - Google Search

FDA approves 'smart bomb' against breast cancer | The Advisory Board Daily Briefing

Metastatic Lung Cancer Fatal Adventure with Chemo & Smart Bombs - YouTube

Cory Monteith Dead: Glee Star Dies at 31 - Yahoo! TV

The Triple Negative Paradox: Primary Tumor Chemosensitivity of Breast Cancer Subtypes

Israelis give a double punch to triple-negative breast cancer | ISRAEL21c

Meet Denise Wolf: Fighting A Triple Negative Threat - The Independent: Community

Civilians trapped in Syria mosque | Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more.

Futurity.org – How to tame ‘triple negative’ breast cancer

What are the Side Effects of Tamoxifen?

Omega-3 Fatty Acids Slow Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation

AACR Annual Meeting 2013 - Google Search

July 16 searches:

how close cure for cancer - Google Search

Scientists find treatment to kill every kind of cancer tumor | Fox News

Cancer Dream Teams: Road to a Cure? | TIME.com

Do you see how I was all over the map with this research?  And I wasn't finding much of anything.  Promises, promises.  But now, it was July 17 and my search brought me to something different.  Something I wasn't expecting.  Take a look at my searches from July 17...almost an exact month after my mother was officially diagnosed to die.


July 17 searches:

Potions from Poison? | Treatments from Toxins: New Drugs May Come from Some Dangerous Places | TIME.com

http://healthland.time.com/2013/07/15/treatments-from-toxins-new-drugs-may-come-from-some-dangerous-places/slide/waxy-monkey-frog/

THC cures Cancer - Google Search

Spain Study Confirms Cannabis Oil Cures Cancer (Reloaded) | Zen-Haven - Love Hope Courage

Marijuana cuts lung cancer tumor growth in half, a 2007 Harvard Medical School - Google Search

A 2007 Harvard Medical School study shows Marijuana cuts lung cancer tumor growth in half. | “Hang together or hang separately” (Ben Franklin)

FB Home Grown Hydroponix

Federally Sponsored Marijuana Study Backfires: Scientists Conclude DEA Should Reclassify Cannabis | Marijuana.com  

Did you see it in there?  "THC cures cancer" was one of my google searches.  But why?  I'm still trying to figure out how I got to THC.  I think I either read something about THC in the comments of a different article or when I pinned the Potions from Poison article to Pinterest, an article about THC was suggested.  What matters is that I read the article.  And I grew curious.  And I started to dig and dig and dig.  

I was blown away by what I found.  Research.  Actual research by medical researchers!  And names.  Lots of names of real people who could be contacted.  I was excited by what I was reading but also skeptical.  This whole experience reminded me of how I came to follow Christ.  It was a slow process with lots of research on the Bible.  But in the end, faith.  Not blind faith.  Reasoned faith.

I started sharing what I was learning with my husband, sister, step-dad but not really my mom.  I wasn't sure how she would react to what I was telling her.  I wasn't even sure WHAT to tell her.  I still had so much to learn.  

How I researched

In doing my research, I look at the source of an article or research paper.  I google the names of the researchers.  I check to see if they are real people.  I want to see their picture.  I want to know if I can contact them.  I need more than just a "trust us on this." If an article mentions a study, I look for the study online and read it.  I ask questions.  I ask them to the medical experts in my life and look for the medical experts out in cyber land.  Then, I research them.  

I do not like being lied to.  Who does?  So, I go out and look for answers.  I look for truth.  As part of my research, I tried to DISPROVE what I believed.  I couldn't.  

I did my research during my kids' nap time or sitting in a hospital room with my mom.  I contacted doctors and researchers.  I truly feel this is the answer to eradicating cancer. 

Introduction--Who I am

My mother died of breast cancer on September 26, 2013 at 8:53 a.m.  She fought a battle against an unknown monster for almost 6 months.  After she was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer (it had spread to her liver and other parts of her body), she lived just three months, fighting a losing war.

During this time, my life and views completely changed.  I went from vehemently denying something to becoming the biggest supporter.  No one told me about this.  No one encouraged me to go this route.  I honestly believe it was God who led me down this path.  I was the one who chased after the information.  I didn't "drink the Kool-aid."  I did my own research and discovered the truth while I was looking the other way.

I share this information and my accounts of what happened in the hope of helping someone else.  This is a personal passion of mine, to share the truth of what I learned during this horrible time.  I truly believe we should not have to die from ANY cancer and I truly believe God gave us a way out.  However, that way out has been made illegal to us.  Everything I just wrote would have been a lie to me up until July 17, 2013.  I trusted the doctors and conventional medicine.  There was no reason not to.  I did believe that natural, alternative therapies along with eating a clean diet could help the fight but my money was on the chemotherapy.  The chemotherapy almost killed my mom faster than the cancer.  I am not a conspiracy theorist but I have come to believe medicine that can help us is being withheld from us.

Please, read my story.  Please, read my research.  Please, research me!   Check my facts.  Check my research.  Do your own searches.  Try to disprove all of it and then let me know.  I've been trying to disprove what I learned and only more doors open instead of shut.  

I'm just a stay-at-home mother of two young children.  I have a college degree from Central Michigan University.  I majored in Broadcasting and minored in English.  I am a Christian and live my life with Jesus at the center.  I'm just a daughter who made a promise to her mother that her death would NOT be in vain.  I don't know how I can take cancer down all by myself but this is my attempt: by educating you.