A psychedelic drug found in magic mushrooms could help cancer patients to overcome fears of death, a study has suggested.
After taking a single dose of psilocybin as part of a course of counselling, cancer patients experienced significant drops in anxiety and depression for as long as five years.
“The patients had described debilitating fears related to cancer progression or recurrence and the imminence of death,” Gabby Agin-Liebes, of Palo Alto University in California, said. “The prospect of death had moved from something abstract to something more real, which they couldn’t escape from.”
A single dose of psilocybin, combined with the therapy, appeared to help to change their relationship with their illness. “It helped them to move toward a clearer acknowledgement and acceptance of