CBD and Bladder Cancer: A Promising Connection
I don’t know about you, but topics like this ignite a fire in me. My passion has always been rooted in finding ways to improve our healthcare system, especially when it comes to cancer treatment. My journey with this plant began in 2015 when I took my grandfather, Will Underhill, to a cancer treatment appointment. That day, his oncologist pulled me aside and quietly asked if I could get my grandfather some cannabis. At the time, medical cannabis wasn’t yet legal in Florida (legalization didn’t happen until 2016). That meant this physician was putting his medical license at risk—driven purely by compassion and a determination to help his patient.
What I witnessed next changed my perspective forever. After days of barely eating, my grandfather sat down and devoured a plate and a half of food following cannabis use. His appetite returned, and his comfort improved noticeably. I couldn’t shake the thought: if an oncologist—a cancer specialist—was willing to recommend cannabis even before it was legal, there had to be something powerful worth exploring here.
That moment sparked my curiosity and launched a journey that has lasted nearly a decade. Today, I’ve built a company devoted to diving deep into medical literature and sharing evidence-based findings about cannabinoid medicine. I scour peer-reviewed journals worldwide, translating their discoveries into digestible insights so people can access information that’s often hidden in academic silos.
And here’s where it gets truly exciting:
According to Pharmaceutics, a peer-reviewed open-access journal, cannabidiol (CBD)—a bioactive phytocannabinoid—has demonstrated “potent” anti-tumor and anticancer effects across multiple cancer types, including bladder cancer (BC) (1). This is especially important because bladder cancer ranks as the 10th leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with 55,000 new cases reported in 2020 alone (1). Even more concerning, around 70% of bladder cancers (non-muscle-invasive bladder cancers, NMIBC) are resistant to standard chemotherapy drugs. That high rate of chemoresistance makes the search for effective alternatives urgent.
This is where CBD steps into the spotlight. Research has shown that CBD can:
- Promote bladder cancer cell death, increasing apoptosis (programmed cell death) by nearly 50% (1).
- Control tumor cell growth and migration.
- Trigger apoptosis by inactivating the PI3K/Akt pathway—an intracellular signaling route that normally fuels cell survival, proliferation, and angiogenesis (1).
By shutting off this pathway, CBD effectively disrupts cancer cells’ ability to thrive. This is just one example of how the endocannabinoid system regulates critical processes like metabolism, growth, and even cancer cell death.
This information should be shouted from the mountaintops, yet most people never hear it. That’s why I share it—because even if it helps just one person, it matters. For those in that 70% whose cancer resists chemotherapy, cannabinoid therapy could represent a ray of hope. Unless you’ve read Rick Simpson’s books or sifted through medical journals, chances are you’ve never heard about cannabis concentrate’s potential anticancer properties. But the evidence is growing, and awareness will only spread as more of us share this knowledge.
Thank you for taking the time to read and learn.
Bee Happy,
Brandon Farless
Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only. No medical claims are being made, nor should this be taken as medical advice. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Reference
Chen, S., Deng, C., Zheng, W., Li, S., Liu, Y., Zhang, T., Zhang, C., Fu, Y., Miao, H., Ren, F., & Ma, X. (2021). Cannabidiol Effectively Promoted Cell Death in Bladder Cancer and the Improved Intravesical Adhesion Drugs Delivery Strategy Could Be Better Used for Treatment. Pharmaceutics, 13(9), 1415. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics13091415
