Cancer patients experience a higher rate of depression and anxiety which can result in negative healthcare outcomes. With the limited treatment options available, there has been an interest in using psychedelics such a psilocybin to manage such complications. Recently, two studies demonstrated the potential of psilocybin nin not only reducing distress, but also increasing positive emotions in cancer patients. It is thus interesting to further examine this issue. This review paper will first provide a brief introduction into psilocybin and proceed to summarize key findings from these two studies. The rest of the paper will be devoted to critically evaluating the findings and discussing potential future directions for the applications of psilocybin in treating anxiety and depression in cancer patients.
Lim, C. H., et al. (2018). “The Utility of Psilocybin in Managing Anxiety and Depression in Cancer Patients.” Journal of Young Investigators 35(2): 45-49.