Latest news with #terminalcancer
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
My mother died of assisted suicide and now I'm doing the same for a heartbreaking reason
A retired Canadian pilot battling terminal cancer is preparing to die this summer in the same way his mother did - more than a decade after her final act helped inspire the country's controversial assisted dying laws. Price Carter, 68, from Kelowna, British Columbia, was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer last spring. The disease is incurable, but rather than fearing his impending death, Carter is calmly preparing for it - determined to go out on his own terms with the help of Canada 's Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program. 'I'm okay with this. I'm not sad,' he told the The Canadian Press this week in a candid interview. 'I'm not clawing for an extra few days on the planet. I'm just here to enjoy myself. 'When it's done, it's done.' Carter is set to tread a path blazed by his mom, Kay Carter, who in 2010 secretly flew to Switzerland to end her life at the Dignitas facility, an assisted-dying organization, aged 89, following an excruciating years-long battle with spinal stenosis. At the time, assisted dying was illegal in Canada, but Kay's story sparked a national conversation. Five years later, in 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that, in certain circumstances, competent adults suffering from intolerable illnesses or ailments have the constitutional right to seek medical assistance in dying (MAID). The ruling became known as the Carter decision. The federal government followed the ruling with legislation in 2016, and later expanded eligibility following a court challenge in March 2021. Now, Price Carter is preparing to utilize the very law his mother's death helped birth. 'I was told at the outset, 'This is palliative care, there is no cure for this.' So that made it easy,' he told the National Post of his decision. 'I'm at peace,' he added. 'It won't be long now.' Unlike his mother, Carter won't be required to travel thousands of miles to end his life. When the time comes, he plans to die in a hospice suite, surrounded by his wife, Danielle, and their three children, Grayson, Lane, and Jenna. Carter said he has chosen not to die at home because he doesn't want the space, which has been filled with so many happy memories over the years, to be transformed into a place of grief. He plans to spend his final hours playing board games with his wife and children. Then, after taking three different medications, his life will be over. 'Five people walk in, four people walk out, and that's okay,' he told The Globe and Mail, envisioning his death. 'One of the things that I got from my mom's death was it was so peaceful.' Price Carter, along with his two sisters and brother-in-law, accompanied Kay Carter on her surreptitious trip to Switzerland in 2010 to be with her for her final hours. Before her death, Kay penned a letter explaining her decision to end her life, and her family helped draft a list of 150 people to send it to after the procedure was completed. She was unable to alert them of her intentions ahead of time because of the risk that Canadian authorities would attempt to stop her from traveling to Switzerland or prosecute any family members who assisted her. Price said he remembers his mom's death vividly. After filling out the necessary paperwork, she settled into a bed and ate chocolates before a physician gave her a lethal dose of barbiturates to make her heart stop. What stood out to Price Carter was how at peace his mother seemed, following years of being robbed of mobility and crippled by excruciating pain brought on by her spinal condition. 'When she died, she just gently folded back,' he recounted. Reflecting on that moment reduced him to tears. However, he insisted he wasn't crying out of sadness - instead, he was moved by how serene and graceful the process was. 'When it was with my mom, it was one of the greatest learning experiences ever to experience a death in such a positive way,' he told the Globe. 'If I can give that to my children, I will have been successful.' Carter said he is at peace with the road ahead. He isn't interested in pity or condolences. He had spent much of the last few months swimming and rowing. But as the symptoms of his deadly affliction take hold, his energy is beginning to fade, and now he passes the time he has left gardening or fixing his pool. Carter recently completed one medical assessment for MAID and expects to undergo a second this week. If his application is approved, he could be dead by the end of the summer. 'People don't want to talk about death,' he said. 'But pretending it won't come doesn't stop it. We should be allowed to meet it on our own terms.' MAID has long been a contentious topic of debate in Canada, prompting discussion on whether the procedure should be legal and who should qualify. In 2021, when the law was expanded, a controversial clause was included that would allow people suffering solely from a mental disorder to be considered eligible for assisted death. The proposed change prompted widespread panic among lawmakers and mental health professionals nationwide, and the amendment has now been delayed until March 2027. Last October, Quebec became the first province in Canada to allow advanced requests for MAID, allowing people with dementia or Alzheimer's to formally request assisted death ahead of time, before they are no longer capable of consenting. Carter is calling for the policy to be adopted nationwide. He believes limiting advanced MAID requests to only Quebec is leaving vulnerable people to waste away in fear elsewhere in the country. He said advanced requests afford individuals the comfort of knowing they aren't, as he bluntly put it, 'going to be drooling in a chair for years.' 'We're excluding a huge number of Canadians from a MAID option because they may have dementia and they won't be able to make that decision in three or four or two years. How frightening, how anxiety-inducing that would be,' he said. Dying with Dignity Canada, a national charity that advocates for access to MAID, is echoing Carter's call. Helen Long, who heads the organization, but declined to be interviewed for this story, pointed to polling figures that reportedly show the majority of Canadians support advanced requests for MAID. Statistics show that assisted dying is becoming more common in Canada, according to the National Post. In 2023, the latest year for which national statistics are available, 19,660 people applied for the procedure, and just over 15,300 were approved. More than 95 percent of those were individuals whose deaths were considered reasonably foreseeable, the outlet reported.
CTV News
3 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
‘A conglomeration of acquired goodies': N.B. man with cancer sells stuff to declutter
Gerry Carroll poses for a portrait with his wife Mary in Riverview, N.B., Thursday, May 29, 2025. Carroll, who has been told he has terminal cancer, has decided to sell his possessions in order to ease the burden on his family after his death. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ron Ward FREDERICTON — It was a complete shock when Gerry Carroll was diagnosed with cancer and was given months to live. The retired Riverview, N.B., sales representative said he had gone to see his family doctor in December 2023 for what he described as a 'gurgling' noise in his stomach. His family physician sent him for a scan, which showed malignant polyps. 'I think you have someone else's report there,' he remembers telling the doctor. A few weeks after he had time to process the news, Carroll said he wanted to make sure he found a way to get rid of some of his possessions that he has been collecting for nearly six decades. 'He's a hoarder,' said his wife, Mary Carroll. Her husband roared with laughter. 'I just have this acquisition problem,' he retorted. Carroll said there was no room left in his garage for all of his stuff. His collection spans almost everything, including two scooters, 'speakers, speakers, speakers,' books, cassettes, movies, televisions, VCRs, power tools and clothing. 'You name it, I have it,' he said. 'It's just a conglomeration of acquired goodies.' Part of his collection includes all the contents of a neighbour's apartment who was moving to a nursing home, he said. 'Almost ended 59 years of wedded bliss.' But he also began to worry about how his wife would deal with all the stuff when he dies. Inspired by a British practice where people sell things out of their vehicles, Carroll said he decided to do the same, and posted his idea on social media. The response was huge and positive. A property owner in Moncton, N.B., let Carroll use his empty lot. Heading into his second weekend of sales, Carroll said he plans on holding a bazaar every weekend until he gets rid of his stuff. Getting rid of all that he's acquired over the years, he said will leave his wife with 'peace and quiet.' 'I'm not getting rid of any of our personal belongings or things that our daughter may have given us or anything like that,' he added. Mary Carroll first met Gerry Carroll on Jan. 25, 1965, at a dance in Bible Hill, N.S. 'When I met him, I didn't like him,' she said with a chuckle. 'I thought he and his friend were show-offs.' Carroll asked her if he could escort her home, she said. She refused. At another dance a few days later, she said he asked her again if he could give her a ride back to her house. She turned him down again. But he didn't give up. 'I knew he was just going to go through (each day of) the week. So I said, 'Yes. I will go home with you,'' she said. 'That was the beginning.' It wasn't long before the two were married. Mary Carroll said she is taking it one day at a time as her husband deals with terminal cancer. While she is not fond of her husband's habit of collecting things, she said she doesn't know how to feel about him selling everything. 'It's something, I guess, that keeps his mind occupied,' she said. For Carroll, he said the sales are a way to meet people, have a few laughs and get some money. 'I'm 82. I've been married to my wife for 59 years, and we have a daughter and three beautiful grandchildren,' he said. 'That's about as good as it gets.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2025. The Canadian Press
The Independent
16-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Esther Rantzen's tearful daughter pauses interview as she pleads for MPs to ‘see sense' on assisted dying
Dame Esther Rantzen 's daughter became emotional as said her mother has 'no idea what's coming' regarding her terminal cancer as the debate on legalising assisted dying continues. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was back before the House of Commons on Friday, 16 May, for the first time since a historic yes vote in November saw a majority of MPs support the principle of assisted dying. Rebecca Wilcox said: 'We should be able to have a pain-free, caring, compassionate death. 'I only wish I could get that for my mother... she has no idea what's coming around the corner."
ABC News
15-05-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Terminal cancer diagnosis sparks young family's trip of memories and love
Kate Hardman was heavily pregnant with her third child when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given three years to live. "Your world falls apart, you're terrified," Kate said. She had previously been diagnosed with breast cancer twice, but this time it had spread to her spine, fracturing the C5 vertebra in her neck. Kate was flown from Darwin to Brisbane for immediate surgery on her neck and gave birth to her daughter a week later. "She came at 35 weeks, perfectly healthy, little bundle of joy, small but perfect," the proud mum said. "No effects from the treatment, the surgeries or anything that we'd been through." Kate, now 40, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017 after she discovered abnormalities while breastfeeding her first baby, a son who is now eight. She had a mastectomy on her left breast and was given ongoing medication, which she came off in 2021 so she and her husband Kriss Hardman could expand their family. In 2023, when she was pregnant with her third child, the cancer returned in her right breast. "I was 23 weeks pregnant when I was diagnosed for the second time with breast cancer, but it was bilateral … so I had a mastectomy on the right [breast]," Kate said. At 28 weeks, she began chemotherapy. "I started my chemotherapy and then I started to get a sore neck … it got increasingly worse … I was having spasms in it." A CT scan revealed the cancer had spread to her neck and was now incurable. "You kind of hit rock bottom, it's just devastating … your world gets turned upside down," Kate said. Her husband described the prognosis as overwhelming. "Everything is on your brain, a million miles an hour," he said. But after the initial shock, the couple decided it was time to shift their perspective and make the most of their time together. The Hardmans have created a list of everything they want to experience together as a family, while they still can. "Don't wait to live your life," Ms Hardman said. Along with their kids — their son, and their daughters, aged three and one — they packed their lives into a caravan almost two months ago and hit the road. The family plans to travel around Australia for 18 months, to create memories and to raise awareness about breast and prostate cancer, which Kriss has been successfully treated for. "My oncologist gave me a three-month supply of chemotherapy tablets," Kate said. "How it works is every three months, I have to give them notes of where I'm going, and I get my referral sent to that hospital. "I also have to do monthly blood tests, which get sent back to my oncologist in Darwin." Kate says that while she does suffer some side effects from the medication, they are manageable and don't limit her daily life. Raising awareness is also a personal mission for Kriss, 36, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2020. "I was lucky, I had some surgery and caught it really, really early," he said. "I don't think I would have caught it as early had I not had a wife who had breast cancer. "I would have put it off. I would have been one of those blokes that said, 'I'll go next week, next month', and then by the time you put it off and don't go, maybe it's too late." The Hardmans are urging people to have regular check-ups with their GPs. "It can save your life. It saved mine. If I had left it, I might not be here," Kriss said. Kate said cancer could impact anyone. And they still have plenty of goals to tick off. "We've still got countries and places written down in her little book somewhere that says I want to go and see this, do this, I want to experience this," Kriss said. "That's what I want to achieve while she is here … I want to tick off as many of these places as we can."
The Independent
13-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
MSP says her mother starved herself to death after terminal cancer diagnosis
An emotional MSP has revealed how how her mother opted to starve herself to 'hasten her inevitable death' after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Elena Whitham told how her mother Irene McLeod took two weeks to die after making that decision in secret back in 2014. As Holyrood debated a Bill that could bring in assisted dying for terminally ill Scots, Ms Whitham said her mother was 58 and 'had so much to live for'. She described her mother as being 'all sorts of awesome', adding: 'She was funny, she was sarcastic, passionate and complicated.' But after being diagnosed with terminal stage four lung cancer in February 2014, she said she she was dead just five weeks later. Ms Whitham recalled: 'I hadn't even processed the fact that she was ill by the time we were ordering her wicker casket. 'She was only 58, she had so much to live for. 'And yet her last decision on this earth was to starve herself, to hasten her inevitable death.' She added: 'My mum didn't tell us what she was doing, I think she knew we were not ready to let her go and she wanted to protect us from her decision. 'Her mind was made up in her usual headstrong manner, and she had the agreement of her medical team she could choose to die this way. It is the only way the medical establishment allows a death when you are terminal.' The SNP MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley said she could 'not even fathom the internal conflict she must have experienced, as she was consumed first by hunger and then by the urgent need to drink'. The MSP, who is stepping down from Holyrood in May 2026, said it had taken two weeks for her mother to 'starve to death'. She recalled: 'She woke up very briefly the morning she passed away, when she wasn't sedated quickly enough, and none of us will ever forget the terror on her face when she realised she wasn't dead after having been unconscious for three days.' Ms Whitham told MSPs: 'My mum deserved to plan a compassionate death, surrounded by her family, not one she had to conduct in secret, with us only finding out when a caring nurse explained what she had been enduring prior to lapsing into unconsciousness. 'No-one should be forced to starve themselves, travel overseas or use other traumatic methods to end their lives when dealing with a terminal diagnosis.' And she said that without change 'people will continue to make choices like my mum' .
