follow up question for "no appetite" ,very scared now

[redgreen9]

yesterday Fernando Roque,MD ,replied to my original question about not having much of an appetite two years after finishing radiation and chemo for my tonsilar cancer ,and i greatly appreciated it.problem is,i`m left with a much more worriesome question now .i have no idea how this asking questions here works,so i`m hoping the doctor can clarify one statement for me. the statement in question is , The effect of marijuana on a patient who underwent chemoradiation is unpredictable, and may result in" aggravation of adverse  effects". PLEASE tell me what "aggravation of adverse effects" means ! does it mean i could make the results of the treatment even more noticeable ? which is fine,because the tiny bit i use hasn`t ....yet.all i need to know so i can sleep again is if it meant it could be a root cause of my cancer re -appearing again. and speaking of sleep,other than giving me an appetite,it really makes me sleepy,which is a blessing in it`s own right.i was never one much for using it before cancer,because that`s what it did to me.just made me want to eat and very sleepy.what a pity it may turn out to be to dangerous.i`m sorry if i`m wating someones time.i don`t know how this works but my nerves are shot now after yesterday and i just need some closure on this.thank you,i hope :)

[bondot]

this post goes back 5 1/2 years. I hope that your situation has improved and that you are cancer free. I am 1 year into same situation so I'm interested in your experience. bondot

[redgreen9]

once again,thank you doctor.i don`t know if you see these comments or if this is the proper place to thank you but i certainly hope you do. i wish some day someone could tell me why marijuana is used so commonly in NorthAmerica on cancer patients if it`s so darn dangerous.it was such a great help to my eating and sleeping in such tiny amounts every few days, it was wonderful eating and sleeping again every now and then.back to square one i guess :(

[Fernando Roque, MD]

Hi.  Sorry for the late reply. Some chemotherapy adverse effects which may be aggravated by marijuana use include an increased susceptibility to infection, particularly respiratory tract infection. Marijuana use leads to an impairment of the body's immune system. Marijuana smoke itself contains more than 50 percent more cancer-causing substances than tobacco smoke, and aggravates the risk for development of cancer anywhere in the respiratory tract. It can also aggravate an existing heart condition or hypertension.