Dying cancer patients often experience fear, pain, and denial, but these distress states are not constant; many patients also undergo a transformation of perception—shifts in awareness of time, space, body, and social connectedness—that can lead to spiritual or transcendental experiences, especially during calm periods after the transition. Most patients in the study died peacefully. Previous near-death or spiritual experiences may ease the dying process. The findings suggest that end-of-life care should attend to patients' inner processes beyond symptom management.
In psilocybin-assisted therapies for seriously ill adults, spirituality and mystical experiences are measured with a wide variety of tools, and researchers rarely define what they mean by 'spirituality'. A review of seven experimental studies found 12 different instruments, most commonly the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ30), the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spirituality (FACIT-Sp-12), and the Demoralization Scale (DS-I/II). The lack of consistent definitions and measures makes it hard to compare results or understand how spirituality contributes to patient outcomes. Better, more consistent measures are needed to improve research and reduce burden on participants.