Health

Could magic mushrooms help terminally ill patients before death?

By Mallika Marshall, MD

November 13, 2023 / 5:37 PM EST / CBS Boston

Could magic mushrooms help terminally ill patients facing death?

BOSTON - Psilocybin, a psychedelic, and the active ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms has shown some promise in treating depression.

Now, according to The Boston Globe, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is conducting a small trial to see whether giving the drug to patients in hospice care, who aren't expected to live more than six months, along with talk therapy, can help them cope with dying more easily.

So far, some have reported a "renewed sense of purpose" and a "deeper connection with loved ones."

They hope to conduct a larger trial to study the effects even further.

Magic Mushrooms

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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