Nearly one in five cancer survivors say they’ve used the cannabis component CBD after getting their diagnosis—primarily to manage pain, sleep difficulties and emotional distress, according to a new study. More than half reported some sort of benefit from using it to treat specific symptoms.
Journal of Palliative Medicine published a study that surveyed 1258 survivors of 9 different cancer types. Among those participants, 226—or 18 percent—reported using CBD after being diagnosed.
Researchers from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center University of Texas Anderson Cancer Center Mount Sinai Hospital found out that 90% of people using CBD use it to treat symptoms.
The most commonly reported symptom that CBD was used to treat is pain (55%) followed by sleep problems at 47 percent. Stress, anxiety, or depression were also common at 35 percent. Neuropathy was at 18%.
Most survivors using CBD reported improvements in symptoms.
More than half the participants said they had seen at least a small improvement in each symptom after CBD use. The range was from 60% amongst those who were treating neuropathy, to 85% amongst the smaller group of participants using CBD for low-energy or fatigue.
About a fifth reported using CBD for symptoms relief (distress, anxiety, depression), pain, sleep and neuropathy. And more than 50% of survivors said they had experienced some benefit.
Nearly 50% of users stopped using the drug, with most citing that CBD did not work for them. The researchers said that clinical trials were needed to determine the efficacy and safety of CBD in treating specific cancer symptoms.
The study revealed that younger cancer survivors, as well as those with brain and gastrointestinal cancers, were more likely than others to have reported CBD usage in the initial analysis.
Cannabis is being used by cancer patients to treat their symptoms.
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For example, another recent study determined that medical marijuana extracts “meaningfully” improve cancer-related symptoms such as sleep difficulties and anxiety—though responses varied among patients depending on personal preferences for individual cannabinoid content of the extracts.
Separately, researchers found components of marijuana to have “consistent statistically significant effects on tumors” for certain cancers including breast and glioblastoma. This study showed cannabinoids “enhanced chemotherapy efficacy”.
Another systemic review concluded that studies “consistently show” that the CBD is a potential “anticancer agent across different cancer types”—and that effect applies to dogs as well as humans.
A similar analysis showed that CBD “holds substantial promise as an anti-tumor agent” in addition to its other anti-inflammatory properties.
Scientists explored CBD’s effect on many types of cancer—including some of the most aggressive ones, such as glioblastoma, which affects the brain. The researchers also found that CBD can suppress the growth of cancers such as breast, lung colorectal ovarian prostate and other types.
In 2025, a paper published in the journal Pharmacology & Therapeutics, assessed a range of clinical and preclinical findings that the efficacy of chemotherapy drugs can be enhanced by medical marijuana.
In a sign of greater acceptance of medical applications of cannabis, President Donald Trump’s choice to serve as the next White House drug czar has called medical marijuana a “fantastic” treatment option for seriously ill patients and said she doesn’t object to legalization, even if she might not personally agree with the policy.
Also last year, a study found that “patients with cancer using cannabis report significant improvements in cancer-related symptoms.”
Side Pocket Images. Image courtesy Chris Wallis.
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