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MEDICAL CANNABIS IN PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGY: A SURVEY OF PATIENTS AND CAREGIVERS
A 2019-2020 study aimed to explore cannabis use for the treatment of cancer and management of cancer-related symptoms in children receiving care at CancerCare Manitoba Winnipeg, Canada. An anonymous 40 question paper survey was offered to patients/caregivers of children with cancer.
Respondents (n=64) to a survey about children with cancer.
14 out of 64 (22%) reported use of cannabis
14 out of 14 (100%) reported improvement in symptoms
Age of patients using cannabis (N=14)
N=3 (21%) 0-8 years old
N=5 (36%) 9-17 years old
N=6 (43%) 18-30 years old
Active cancer treatment
Have used cannabis - 64% (N=9)
Have not used cannabis - 36% (N=5)
Type of cancer reported by patients using cannabis in children (N=14)
N=9 (64%) Leukemia
N=3 (22%) Brain tumor
N=1 (7%) Other
N=1 (7%) Not reported
Why was cannabis being used?
Symptom management and anti-cancer treatment (43%)
Symptom management (7%)
Other (43%)
Pain (18.2%)
Recreational (27.3%)
Depression (9.1%)
Panic attacks (9.1%)
Sleep (18.2%)
Appetite (9.1%)
For those who reported using cannabis (N=14):
29% cannabis-related information was received from another parent.
36% procured cannabis from their friends.
86% used cannabis oil formulation.
29% cannabis-related information was received from a doctor.
29% procured cannabis from a dispensary/commercial source.
21% the monthly out of pocket expenditure on cannabis was more than $500 CAD.
We found that cannabis products, mostly extracts/oils, were used by one-fifth of children with cancer during or after the completion of cancer treatment. These findings require validation in a larger nationwide survey and highlight the urgent need for safety and efficacy studies on cannabis with children.
For more information, visit www.medcannkids.ca
Produced by Zina Zaslawski on June 2021.
C4T is an academic partnership. Funding details and COI are available on our website. No specific funding was received for this project.