Survivorship Collective
Why we supported it
The Survivorship Collective imagines a world where cancer patients and their families have access to transformative healing beyond conventional treatment, where no one has to face the profound existential distress of cancer alone. In this world, when people confront mortality, grief, and overwhelming fear that traditional medicine cannot address, they know exactly where to turn for safe, legal, and deeply supportive therapeutic options.
The Survivorship Collective is bringing that vision to life. Founded by cancer survivors for the cancer community, it is building a model of patient-centered, science-backed psychedelic-assisted therapy that addresses the emotional and spiritual dimensions of cancer that conventional treatment often overlooks. Its goal is to create accessible pathways to healing for cancer patients and their families, and to reshape what comprehensive cancer care can look like.
Problem:
Cancer patients face not only physical illness but also profound psychological suffering—anxiety, depression, and existential distress about mortality that can be as debilitating as the disease itself. Despite this reality, the cancer care system remains overwhelmingly focused on treating tumors, with limited effective tools to address the deep emotional pain patients experience. Traditional therapies like antidepressants and talk therapy often fall short, leaving patients and their families to navigate crushing fear and isolation without adequate support.
Root Cause:
The cancer treatment paradigm treats the disease while neglecting the whole person. Conventional medicine offers few evidence-based interventions for the existential suffering that accompanies serious illness, and until recently, promising therapies like psilocybin-assisted treatment were legally inaccessible. The Survivorship Collective seeks to change that. Leveraging newly legal, state-regulated pathways in places like Oregon and Colorado, it connects cancer survivors to informed, facilitated psilocybin therapy in supportive group settings. Built by survivors and guided by experts in oncology, palliative care, and psychedelics, the organization is pioneering a new standard of care that treats not just the body, but the mind and spirit—helping people find peace, process grief, and re-engage with life.