Pot & Cancer Where?!
A new study warns of potential health risks to smoking marijuana.
With marijuana slowly becoming decriminalized and legally distributed in the United States, study data is finally coming out to dissect the drug’s effects. But as we saw with the instant panic around juuling and electronic cigarettes, a lot of negative info can be shared as well. The key is to take in this information and to make an educated decision on whether you want to use the product or not.
The Study
But what is this study that has some people worried? A study that has connected daily marijuana use to testicular cancer.
The study published on November 27 in JAMA, titled “Association Between Marijuana Use and Risk of Cancer,” was made by a research team who found just that. The team combined and analyzed 25 previous studies seeing if there’s a link between pot use and cancer of different kinds. The different types of cancers covered in the studies include oral cancer, lung cancer, head and neck cancer, and testicular cancer.
In the end, the team of researchers combining data found that regular weed smoking did affect testicular cancer risk. While there was no particular association between regular pot use and other cancers, regular smoking over many years does heighten a man’s testicular cancer risk. Their hypothesis is because regular smoking releases carcinogens that cause this risk increase.
“When you combust any plant, you're creating significantly more carcinogens,” said Dr. Jeffrey Chen, the director of the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative, to Insider.
That said, there is some room to doubt the study’s results. The researchers themselves admitted that the data may be skewed by old post-consumption habits. The collection of analyzed studies were published between 1973 and 2018, so people may be using the drug differently than during earlier studies. Plus, the drug has certainly evolved since.
Testicular Cancer
There is some believable concern after this study’s data was released. And, there’s some room to not be so concerned. Currently, testicular cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in males between the ages of 15 and 35. That said, only 1% of all men end up getting the cancer. In addition, testicular cancer is one of the most treatable forms of cancer.
What are signs of testicular cancer to recognize? According to MSN, the most common symptom of testicular cancer is a firm but painless bump on the testicle. That bump is a cancerous tumor. Another common symptom, though not as regularly seen, is one testicle swelling. Then other, more general, symptoms are stomach aches, pain in the scrotum, nausea, weight loss, vomiting, and breathing problems.
As researchers continue to look into the effects of marijuana use, everything revolving around cancer, and more, we may learn more about everything.
