Can psilocybin help ease existential despair in patients with advanced cancer? CU researchers hope to find out.

Stacy Fischer, co-leader of cancer prevention and control at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, said several small studies have found that psychedelic drugs may help patients who are experiencing demoralization or despair because of their impending mortality. The study CU is part of will have a larger and more diverse group of people, which hopefully will produce more conclusive evidence of whether there’s a benefit, she said. “There’s so much science that needs to be done in this space,” Fischer said.