But they did see one when they looked at long-term participants who regularly took their pills for at least two years. Among the 258 people on aspirin, there were 10 colon cancer cases. That compares to 23 cases in the 250 people on dummy pills. Rates of side effects like bleeding and ulcers in the stomach were similar in both groups.

I'd like to see these results compared to a similar group using cannabis on a daily basis. I bet this would result in an even smaller number of cancer cases.

And no side effects to go with it. call me crazy, but internal bleeding and ulcers just don't sound worth it...

yes

There is a much safer method for preventing cancer, with no dangerous side effects whatsoever, but our federal government recieves too much lobbyist money to let the people use it as a legal option. Even though it is currently being used for medical purposes in 16 states now, against the federal law.

Pro, I'm with you in the fight to legalize, but that is not a method to prevent cancer, it is a method to treat and relieve symptoms of cancer, MS, arthritis, etc. The problem here is the discrepancy between Congress and the FDA. Congress set marijuana as a schedule I drug in the early 1970's, while the FDA realizes medical benefit and has downgraded the API from I, to II, to now III which all happened since about 1985 I believe. There are several companies in the US and global legally manufacturing and marketing cannabis-based pharmaceuticals.

25 - one of the issues with these fundraisers is that the bulk does not go towards funding researchers. Non-profits still have to pay their executives, organizers, and of course it costs $$ to host and advertise those events.

Still, some cancers are curable, many more treatable, and length/quality of life has been extended for many cancer patients over the past few decades. The real issue with cancer "cure" is that there are numerous genetic and environmental causes, some of which we do not understand, and the underlying biology of tumor/cell proliferation is still poorly understood. There is no, and will never be, a magic bullet to "cure" cancer.

Now to address your comment on the pharma industry, oncology is one of the highest-dollar therapeutic areas. Many, many, many companies are playing in that space. Many more research organizations are also playing in this space, including up-and-coming proteomics and metabolomics research. Successful treatments are not hindered, they are highly sought after as they bring in record profits. Remember a drug's price is set by clinical utility...a single effective cure or treatment will bring in more $$ than multiple courses of treatment. Again I must point out that due to the progression of modern pharmaceuticals some cancers are curable, many more treatable, and length/quality of life has been extended for many cancer patients over the past few decades.

If your confused, the pharmaceutical companies are saying mission accomplished. They want you to think their unnatural medicines are good for you, when in fact natural cannabis is a far safer peventative for cancer than aspirin can ever hope to be.

Pro - please place blame where it belongs, on the US Congress. Pharma is already seeing profits from legal cannabis-based medicines, trust me, they want it legalized so they CAN profit from it more. Not to mention that since the 1980's the pharma industry has successfully lobbied to have the API re-scheduled from I, to II, to now III. Today's pharma companies are using extract from the plant, not synthetic THC. I must also point out these medications treat symptoms, they are not preventatives.

Also many of today's pharmaceutical APIs are organic compounds derived from natural sources. Have you ever read the story of penicillin?

Yes it does, for one, just google "cannabis prevents cancer"

and there are thousands of articles, including:

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cannabis/healthprofessional/page4

Cannabinoids may cause antitumor effects by various mechanisms, including induction of cell death, inhibition of cell growth, and inhibition of tumor angiogenesis and metastasis.[9-11] Cannabinoids appear to kill tumor cells but do not affect their nontransformed counterparts and may even protect them from cell death. These compounds have been shown to induce apoptosis in glioma cells in culture and induce regression of glioma tumors in mice and rats. Cannabinoids protect normal glial cells of astroglial and oligodendroglial lineages from apoptosis mediated by the CB1 receptor.[12]

In an in vivo model using severe combined immunodeficient mice, subcutaneous tumors were generated by inoculating the animals with cells from human non-small cell lung carcinoma cell lines.[13] Tumor growth was inhibited by 60% in THC-treated mice compared with vehicle-treated control mice. Tumor specimens revealed that THC had antiangiogenic and antiproliferative effects. However, research with immunocompetent murine tumor models has demonstrated immunosuppression and enhanced tumor growth in mice treated with THC.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-armentano/if-pot-prevented-cancer-y_b_261157.html

And now for the study you haven't heard of. Writing in the August issue of the journal Cancer Prevention Research, investigators from Rhode Island's Brown University, along with researchers at Boston University, Louisiana State University, and the University of Minnesota reported that lifetime marijuana use is associated with a "significantly reduced risk" of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Authors reported, "after adjusting for potential confounders (including smoking and alcohol drinking), 10 to 20 years of marijuana use was associated with a significantly reduced risk of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNDCC)."

Perhaps even more notably, subjects who smoked marijuana and consumed alcohol and tobacco (two known high risk factors for head and neck cancers) also experienced a reduced risk of cancer, the study found.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501729.html

http://www.medicalcannabisjournal.net/submissions/archive/2010/can-marijuana-prevent-cancer

http://berkeleypatientscare.com/2011/06/10/medical-cannabis-prevents-the-spread-of-breast-cancer-nbc-news/

Just to name a few.

Diet may be a big cause for some cancers. Other cancers have genetic causes. Some are caused by exposure to certain environments. Living longer is also associated with higher risk of cancer. Unfortunately there are so many things that can cause a cell to misprogram and proliferate, there is no one magic bullet or one single key that will prevent cancer in everyone.