Palliative & Supportive Care
November 3, 2022
Lisa Reynolds, Brian S. Barnett, Jeremy Weleff et al.
19 citations
Cancer health-care practitioners in New Zealand and the USA perceive psychedelic-assisted therapy as potentially beneficial for cancer patients, especially those with advanced disease no longer receiving curative treatment. They consider research in this area important and express willingness to refer patients to trials, though they emphasize that work should incorporate spiritual and indigenous perspectives of health. US practitioners had greater awareness of psychedelics, while New Zealand practitioners more strongly believed that spiritual and indigenous factors should be considered. The findings suggest that practitioners may be more open to studies beginning in palliative and end-of-life contexts.
Palliative & Supportive Care
January 1, 2026
Stephen Lewis
1 citation
Three patient-centered outcome measures for spiritual wellbeing—FACIT-Sp-12, EORTC QLQ-SWB-32, and NIH-HEALS—are suitable for use in psychedelic-assisted therapy with palliative care populations, based on a review of 286 articles. The NIH-HEALS is recommended for wider use because of its orientation toward identifying spiritual change in serious illness, strong reliability and validity, and accessibility across spiritual traditions.
Palliative & Supportive Care
January 1, 2025
Houman Farzin, Brigita Koren, Helen Ferrier et al.
1 citation
A 51-year-old man with metastatic lung cancer and a prognosis of less than 6 months experienced depression and anxiety linked to demoralization and existential distress, which persisted despite psychotherapy and 100 mg of sertraline. Through Health Canada’s Special Access Program, he received 25 mg of oral psilocybin in a homecare setting, with preparative and integrative therapy before and after the session. The treatment was well tolerated, and the patient reported a sustained reduction in suffering and improved well-being at 2 months post-intervention. Psilocybin-assisted therapy may be safely delivered at home and offer lasting relief for anxiety and depression associated with existential distress in palliative care.
Palliative & Supportive Care
January 1, 2026
Fiona Cottam, Alesha Wells, Cerys Clayden et al.
Participating in trials of psychedelic-assisted meaning-centered psychotherapy (MCP) may provide hope for both cancer patients and their caregivers. Because the well-being of patients and caregivers is interconnected, the authors argue that caregivers should be included alongside patients in these clinical trials.