# Cannabis oil to treat rat cancer??



## gingerspice (Oct 29, 2015)

My poor boy Jasper (16 month-old fancy rat) went to the vet today after having lost a lot of weight over the last couple months (weighed 810 grams at his checkup two months ago, and 595 grams today) and red fluid leaking out of one of his eyes for the last week or so. The vet took an x-ray after feeling around on Jasper and noticing a mass on his left side and came to the conclusion that he thinks that he has a tumor in his spleen and observed that both of his femurs were showing signs of cancer as well. He told us that besides doing a fine needle aspiration on the mass to be 100% sure that it's cancer, there's nothing else we can really do. I'm obviously devastated and want to find a way to prolong his life, if not save it. I'm a big believer in natural medicine and have done research on cannabis oil treatment for cancer (there have been studies that have shown that CBD oil [the cannabinoid that DOES NOT get you high] is very effective at stopping tumor growth while leaving healthy cells alone; and these studies were initially done on rats with lots of success). I think it would be worth a shot, but I was curious to whether or not anybody on here has tried it, or heard of anybody who has. I know it seems silly that I would go to such lengths to save him since rats have such a short life span anyway, but this is my baby we're talking about so please keep any judgmental comments to yourselves. Thank you all in advance.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

It is not silly at all that you want to help him so badly. I spent over $1,700 to help Gribouilli, including an oxygen concentrator. Try whatever you can to help him. Since it is inoperable anyway, trying cannabis oil won't make it worse IMO. I have no idea if it will help him as I have no experience with it. If he shows any signs of pain, putting him down would be the right thing to do. If you try it, let us know if it helped. I'm very sorry about Jasper.


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## Kokorobosoi (Jan 14, 2016)

That oil was shown to help tumor growth. And if nothing else it may help with the discomfort. 

I think that anything is worth a shot. No disrespect- but it can't hurt.


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## BlueDumbo (Nov 30, 2015)

I have taken a university class on drugs and behaviour and yes they have found that the oil can help with cancer as well as many other beneficial properties. It may not save him but it may prolong his life, if you have access to the oil I would say it's worth a shot! Just figuring out doing may be a little tricky Perhaps if you can research the actual studies and see what dosing was done for the rats (unfortunately) used in those studies?


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## gingerspice (Oct 29, 2015)

Kokorobosoi said:


> That oil was shown to help tumor growth. And if nothing else it may help with the discomfort.
> 
> I think that anything is worth a shot. No disrespect- but it can't hurt.



I've done some thorough research on the subject, as I myself have had a cancer scare in the past, and CBD oil has definitely been shown to inhibit tumor growth.


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## gingerspice (Oct 29, 2015)

BlueDumbo said:


> I have taken a university class on drugs and behaviour and yes they have found that the oil can help with cancer as well as many other beneficial properties. It may not save him but it may prolong his life, if you have access to the oil I would say it's worth a shot! Just figuring out doing may be a little tricky Perhaps if you can research the actual studies and see what dosing was done for the rats (unfortunately) used in those studies?


That's what I've figured. If I can prolong his life and make him at least feel better, it won't have been for nothing. I've done a little bit of research on the actual dosages that were used and didn't find much so far (but we only got Jasper's diagnosis yesterday, I plan on doing much more research) but I'm sure it wouldn't really take much. Even humans only have to take a teeny bit every day and you can't OD on this stuff so if gave him even half of a human dose I'm sure it would work just as well.


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## smoteymote (May 28, 2016)

gingerspice said:


> That's what I've figured. If I can prolong his life and make him at least feel better, it won't have been for nothing. I've done a little bit of research on the actual dosages that were used and didn't find much so far (but we only got Jasper's diagnosis yesterday, I plan on doing much more research) but I'm sure it wouldn't really take much. Even humans only have to take a teeny bit every day and you can't OD on this stuff so if gave him even half of a human dose I'm sure it would work just as well.


If you can pull up the studies themselves, there's a chance you could contact the people who did the studies too and see if they can give you more information directly. A lot of scientists are pretty nice in my experience and I've contacted professionals many times in regards to questions I had for my own research and such. They might also be able to give you information on where to get the oil safely as well!


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## gingerspice (Oct 29, 2015)

smoteymote said:


> gingerspice said:
> 
> 
> > That's what I've figured. If I can prolong his life and make him at least feel better, it won't have been for nothing. I've done a little bit of research on the actual dosages that were used and didn't find much so far (but we only got Jasper's diagnosis yesterday, I plan on doing much more research) but I'm sure it wouldn't really take much. Even humans only have to take a teeny bit every day and you can't OD on this stuff so if gave him even half of a human dose I'm sure it would work just as well.
> ...


Wow, that's a great idea! I'll try that


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## Millie & Daisy (Mar 7, 2015)

I would say to go for it. If you have access to it, get it and use it. There's nothing wrong with looking for treatments for your furry friend. In fact, there's something very noble in going out of your way for him to ensure he has a good quality of life, because rat lives are short in general, and we as owners want them to live their lives to the fullest. 

When my girls were really, really sick as babies I did lots of natural treatments that I believe added to their quality of life if nothing else, and at best helped to fight their illnesses. If the cancer causes problems with inflammation and/or with his lungs, try nopal cactus juice and/or oil of oregano. Nopal juice is shown to reduce inflammation, and oil of oregano was given to lab rats in a study I read about who had lung cancer and breathing problems. It helped extend their lives at least a little. I can try finding a link to the study if you like. Be careful with oil of oregano, though, as I've read that large amounts can be toxic to rats because of some compound that's in it. You can always feed him oregano leaves instead if you're concerned. 

Also, turkey tail mushrooms and reishi mushrooms supposedly have anti-cancer benefits. You can try giving them these mushrooms in supplement form. My mom used them when she had a tumor (we still don't know if it was/is cancerous. I believe it was gone after treatment, but I'd have to ask) on her thyroid along with her conventional treatments.


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## gingerspice (Oct 29, 2015)

Millie & Daisy said:


> I would say to go for it. If you have access to it, get it and use it. There's nothing wrong with looking for treatments for your furry friend. In fact, there's something very noble in going out of your way for him to ensure he has a good quality of life, because rat lives are short in general, and we as owners want them to live their lives to the fullest.
> 
> When my girls were really, really sick as babies I did lots of natural treatments that I believe added to their quality of life if nothing else, and at best helped to fight their illnesses. If the cancer causes problems with inflammation and/or with his lungs, try nopal cactus juice and/or oil of oregano. Nopal juice is shown to reduce inflammation, and oil of oregano was given to lab rats in a study I read about who had lung cancer and breathing problems. It helped extend their lives at least a little. I can try finding a link to the study if you like. Be careful with oil of oregano, though, as I've read that large amounts can be toxic to rats because of some compound that's in it. You can always feed him oregano leaves instead if you're concerned.
> 
> Also, turkey tail mushrooms and reishi mushrooms supposedly have anti-cancer benefits. You can try giving them these mushrooms in supplement form. My mom used them when she had a tumor (we still don't know if it was/is cancerous. I believe it was gone after treatment, but I'd have to ask) on her thyroid along with her conventional treatments.


Thank you. I'm not sure if the cancer's causing inflammation or not. The most I know is that his x-rays were showing signs of cancer on his femurs and that he had a big lump in his spleen. No idea how progressed the cancer actually is or what else it could be doing to him. However, he hasn't been very active since we last took him to the vet and moves very slowly when he does walk around but I think that's just because of the damage to his bones/weakness from not eating. I've acquired some cannabis-infused coconut oil from a local dispensary and started dosing him a couple days ago and I'm not yet sure if it's working or not. He's still pretty lethargic and doesn't do much but I did notice today that he seemed to have a little more vitality in his eyes and he accepted some black beans that we tried to feed him through out the day, so that's a good sign. It's just hard to tell the difference between him being weak/tired and being really stoned :/ (I did more research before getting the cannabis oil and apparently THC does play a part in stopping tumor growth after all, so I got it in a 1:1 CBD/THC ratio).


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

If he has a lump on his spleen he may also have pain. You might want to rule this out by trying him on pain medication like Metacam or infant liquid ibuprofen for a few days and see if his demeanour changes.


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## gingerspice (Oct 29, 2015)

lilspaz68 said:


> If he has a lump on his spleen he may also have pain. You might want to rule this out by trying him on pain medication like Metacam or infant liquid ibuprofen for a few days and see if his demeanour changes.


His demeanor has changed quite a bit just from giving him the oil, actually! I was concerned at first about the lump causing him pain and considered giving him the ratty-ibuprofen but about a week after starting treatment with the oil, he started walking normally and doesn't squeak or show any signs of discomfort when we pick him up so that leads me to believe the oil is helping with any pain he might have been feeling before  I'm also more trusting in natural medicine than any chemical-laden alternatives but if for any reason the oil isn't helping with the pain enough, I have a bottle of the pain medicine as a backup.


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## Cloyphish (Apr 25, 2016)

Been following this as it's interesting. Any progress since last post?


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## jbgrib (Oct 21, 2016)

How did you give him the oil? This is a great idea and my heart rat has a mammary tumor. I'm wondering if this may help?


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## Ladylazerstar702 (Sep 15, 2016)

Can you give us an update on this? Marijuana is about to be legalized in my state and I want to learn more about this.


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