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Psilocybin in Cancer Treatment
Lauren Tabacchini
Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide. It takes a toll on the individual and those surrounding them. People suffering from cancer have a significantly low quality of life, especially those who have an untreatable case and need to learn to accept the possibility of death. There is a breakthrough in the case of comfortability of cancer patients, and it is magic mushrooms.
Magic mushrooms- commonly referred to as “shrooms”- are known to cause major breakthroughs in one's life. But what makes these mushrooms magic? The answer is psilocybin.
Major medical institutions such as Hardvard, Yale, and John Hopkins, are now producing studies and conducting research regarding psilocybin. Psilocybin is the component found in magic mushrooms that is responsible for the hallucinogenic effects, the compound that will be used as treatment options for mental and chronic illness within the next decade.
When it comes to taking these mushrooms as medicine, there are two different ways one can use magic mushrooms to their benefit in the treatment of illness: macrodosing and microdosing. A microdose is when one takes a smaller than a normal dose of a given compound. In the case of magic mushrooms, it means one would not feel any of the psychotropic effects: no auditory or visual hallucinations would be produced. It is similar to the fashion of a gummy vitamin. One does not feel the effects of it in any way, shape, or form, but they know that it is working. On the other hand, with a macrodose, the user would experience the mushroom in its full effect. In the duration of a six hour span, the user would experience the effects of a psychedelic compound: most commonly auditory and visual hallucinations.
How do magic mushrooms actually help? The answer is that it is similar to an antidepressant. The mushrooms target serotonin receptors in the brain, but through a different apparatus than a pharmaceutically produced drug. What is so magical about these mushrooms is that they are able to take a negative bias and turn it into a positive thought. In recent years there have been many studies looking into the effects of this compound, it was found that not only did mushrooms improve the symptoms of depression while taking the mushrooms, they produced long term results, decreasing depression as a whole.
John Hopkins is one of the many major medical institutions that has conducted studies on psilocybin. They have run clinical trials for how it affects people in micro and macrodoses, studied the effects on people with depression, and most recently the effects of psilocybin on people with cancer.
John Hopkins' most recent clinical trial with psilocybin and cancer patients yielded very promising results. The patients in this study were those with life threatening variants of cancer. They were given one macrodose of psilocybin in a clinical setting and monitored over the course of a few months. In regard to the results, Roland Griffiths a doctor working on the clinical trial wrote:
“This study showed that psilocybin produced substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer, and that mystical-type experiences on session days mediated the effect of psilocybin dose on therapeutic outcomes” (Roland Griffiths PhD).
The results for this psilocybin trial were not just short term, they had long term effects. At the 6 month mark, over 80% of patients in the clinical trial were still experiencing positive results from the psilocybin.
Although the psilocybin did not cure or reduce any of the patient’s cancer, it improved their quality of life, made them more comfortable with the thought of death, and strengthened their sense of self.
Magic mushrooms are the next step in medicine. As the stigma surrounding them decreases, the public knowledge of their benefits will increase.
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