Hi Kim.  This is one of the subjects that I change my mind about day-by-day.  What I really do believe though is that there should be more hospices and/or end-of-life wards in local hospitals - where the staff are fully trained in EOL care and doctors are ensuring that we all die with dignity and not suffer in any way (we shouldnt need to in this day and age). Families should be allowed to stay with their loved ones and also supported by the staff.  One thing is for sure - cancer or no cancer - we will all pass away at some point and yet, so often, there are not the facilities available to those at the end of their life, or their families. If we all felt confident that excellent care and support would be available at this time, then I am not sure that assisted dying would be such an issue.    Max x

Kim, a year ago I would have said absolutely NO.  But now I have changed my mind.  I am not afraid of dying but I am afraid of the method of my death.  When I refused chemo and radiotherapy the oncologist told me I would get a recurrence and I would be in terrible pain and she wasnt sure there were drugs to control it.  This has terrified me for six months now and if I was certain that I could decide when the time was right then I would support the legislation.  I fear, though, it will be too late for me.

Hi Kim

I have always been in favour of assisted dying.  This was reinforced when my Dad died last year he was in so much pain towards the end that he was begging us to take tablets in for him so he could kill himself.  It was only when he was in the last stages that the hospital gave him enough morphine to kill the pain and make him unconcous.  We stayed for hours during the night but had to go home and he died with no one with him, that still upsets me that he could have woken and been alone.  Had he been able to make the choice  we would have been able to be by his side and perhaps he would have had not suffered so much.

I do think though that this has to be very carefully regulated though.  

Thanks for your individual thoughts on this. My own father died from cancer in 2008, he wanted to come home from the lovely local hospice where he had first class care. He had 2 weeks of good life at home before deteriorating quickly, the doctor without telling us or dad put him on the Liverpool Care Pathway. We were not aware of this regime at the time.This involved hooking dad up to a driver which delivered diamorphine (heroin) continuously. After day 2 a sedative was added to the driver. This made him unconsious or unable to communicate anyway. Then the dose of diamorphine was increased. During this time he received no fluids not even by drip. I mentioned this to the visiting nurse and just got a blank stare.. It took three and a half days for him to die, I guess from dehydration. We stayed with him throughout, taking it in turns to sit with him through the night. Keeping his mouth damp with a sponge, turning him over frequently and keeping him clean.

I would like to be consious when I die, and not in pain. If this is not possible then just to go quickly to sleep like my dog did at the vets would suit me. If that is what Lord Falconer's Assisted dying Bill could achieve them I'm for it. As mentioned in other posts with the strongest possible safeguards.

I have given much thought to this subject over the past year of my illness to the extent of researching which drug would be best and where to obtain it. As it is illegal to ask anyone else to help you procure or administer the drug. I am in remission now and enjoying life but I am prepared for when the time comes.

Hi Kim, I'm glad you opened this topic on here. We, here in Canada have just had a ruling made by the Supreme Court of Canada on Assisted Death. People here have wanted this option now for some time, so it was a welcome announcement for sure. So many people have taken this request through the Court System to no avail, and unfortunately, they have died without having this available to them. Its' not only cancer victims who want it, many people suffering from ALS have wanted it also. Now that the Supreme Court has struck down the law forbidding it, the provinces have until Feb./16 to work out a plan to make it happen. I think it will be a shimozzle to get that done, but done it has to be by that date.

I have been attending many information seminars on this and the medical people are very much against it. The dilemna they struggle with is how to reconcile the Hypocratic Oath with helping people to end their lives. While I sympathize with them, I will want Assisted Death available to me if I reach a point when I have no quality of life and no hope of recovering. I am not a martyr and have no desire to die this way. Having said that, I certainly respect the wishes of others to make their own choice and they need to be given every support available to them. I'm not afraid of being dead, but I am darn scared of the journey to get there. There's also lots of concerns being expressed about abuse in using this law to justify taking someone's life against their will. That can't happen with all the checks and balances in place to protect the most vulnerable. The patient has to be of sound mind and fully aware of what they are asking at the time they request it. Assisted death will not be available to anyone with dementia, or children, or anyone who is not totally aware of what is happening. Likely there will be a whole team deciding whether this person is capable of making this decision.

There are several states in the USA who have a ruling in place for persons who want Assisted Death and now we will have it in Canada. It certainly won't be a "walk in the park" for sure. The more I learn about how this will happen, the more I see where there will be very strict rules as to how it will materialize.

I have watched so many family members and friends begging for assisted death and of course, they were denied. That was so heartbreaking for them, and agonizing for us too.

I'll be watching this thread as people weigh in on it with their comments.

Lorraine