Marijuana may be key to helping cancer patients recover

Cancer care comes at a life-altering cost in the U.S. — one that neither employers nor employees can afford.

According to Business Group on Health, cancer is the top driver of healthcare costs for employers, with 13% of companies noting that the number of late-stage cancer cases has increased among their workers and 44% expecting to see cancer diagnoses grow in the future. As employers' outlooks grow more dire, benefit leaders are on the hunt for solutions that can mitigate costs down the line. But would they be willing to consider cannabis-based care?

Cannabinoid-base treatment provider EO Care had cancer patients at Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health in Philadelphia follow their cannabis care regimen, and the results were promising: Patients who stuck to the program for four weeks reduced their prescription use by 80% and reduced their ER visits by 7%. After 12 weeks of care, patients reported no ER visits or hospitalizations. 

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"People undergoing treatments like chemotherapy are prescribed five different medications to help with nausea, vomiting, pain, anxiety and a myriad of other symptoms," says Dr. Brooke Worster, chief medical officer at EO Care and director of supportive oncology at Jefferson Health. "With a [cannabis] care plan, we can reduce those prescriptions and address symptoms."

Worster also highlights that better-managed symptoms of cancer treatment lead to fewer hospital visits. Notably, 75% of patients under EO Care experienced a reduction in overall pain and 89% noticed an improvement in their quality of sleep. Patients reported feeling more sociable and having the ability to better engage in activities like walking, cooking and working. 

Despite the positive outcomes of the report, Dr. Worster is aware that cannabis still has a negative reputation, especially in corporate America. She believes this, in part, stems from misinformation or a general lack of information surrounding the medical use of cannabis. She recalls only getting a half-hour lecture on cannabis when she was in medical school. But she's confident that the perception is changing for the better.

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"Even in the last 15 years, we've seen a lot of data that shows cannabis isn't this dangerous gateway drug it was painted to be in the '60s, '70s and '80s," says Dr. Worster. "People are starting to see that there is a meaningful place for cannabis in healthcare."

For employers who are on the fence, Blake Zenger, a strategic advisor at EO Care, reminds them that cannabis-based treatments don't entail workers going to a local dispensary and figuring it out themselves. 

"Patients are working directly with doctors on getting the right prescription — it's clinically guided [medication], and that's key," says Zenger. "My advice is to look outside the box a bit when thinking about cancer care solutions."

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Still, Zenger and Dr. Worster both agree that introducing cannabis-based care as an employee benefit can be controversial. They both encourage benefit leaders to do their research and figure out whether this solution can mitigate costs for their workforce. If it can, then it may be worth getting over the perception hurdle.

"When I first started working for EO Care, even I wasn't sure about it," says Zenger. "But as I spoke to family members about the benefits of cannabis for their cancer treatment, I became a believer. This should be on the radar of employers who are looking to both manage costs and improve the quality of care for their employees."