Like Brittany Maynard, I have extremely aggressive brain cancer. But I’m not downing any kill pills.
Kara Tippetts and family |
The video, which features interviews of Brittany Maynard and her
family members, is very emotional. Maynard, who was diagnosed this past
spring, suffers from a stage-four gliobastoma multiforme brain tumor.
She has a very aggressive form of brain cancer, and it is difficult to
control its growth. In her video story, she describes how she was
diagnosed and relates her understanding that the glioblastoma will
eventually kill her. She then relates her fear that this scenario will
be “out of her control.”
As I watched the video, I wanted to hug Brittany and shed tears right
along with her because I, too, know those fears. I was also diagnosed
this past spring with a stage-four glioblastoma multiforme brain tumor.
I can identify with Maynard and her spunky, adventurous spirit. She
describes her love of travel. In my profession with The Lutheran
Church–Missouri Synod’s mercy outreach, I’ve led medical mission teams
and worked on relief projects in 11 countries, loving every minute of
it. I have seen the poorest of the poor and the sickest of the sick. I
have seen suffering that would make anyone’s stomach turn.
The Hardest Part Is Not Knowing When
Now I face my own prognosis of future suffering. Some days are joyful. Some days the diagnosis feels like a huge weight in my backpack.
The hardest part of a terminal diagnosis is not knowing the timeline.
I speak candidly with my physicians and pray that they can keep my
tumor under control with the latest therapies to extend my life, one
more year, month, day. Someday, I hope my tumor qualifies to be studied
in one of the many clinical trials for brain cancer. I’d like to think
my situation was part of a cure for someone else.
My doctors have applauded my decision to step down from my physically
and emotionally demanding job to spend precious time with my family. I
have a husband and three daughters who I hope will always remember me as
a strong, thoughtful (but bull-headed) woman, carrying Christ’s mercy
and compassion for others in my soul with rich joy and meaning.
Suicide Is Not the Answer to Brain Cancer
And here is where my comparison with Brittany Maynard ends. Maynard chose to move her family to Oregon earlier this year to have legal access to physician-assisted suicide and to receive a prescription for drugs that she has stated she will use to take her life two days following her husband’s birthday, on Nov. 1, 2014. It’s interesting that Maynard steadfastly refuses to refer to her decision as an act of suicide, even though she will, quite literally, take her own life.
Many people who choose assisted-suicide have expressed that they are
uncomfortable with the term. Assisted suicide, which means helping
someone take his or her own life, has been redefined into the more
euphemistic “aid in dying” or sometimes “death with dignity” campaign
which has been spearheaded by the well-funded special-interest group
Compassion and Choices (previously known as The Hemlock Society).
However well-intentioned, this is one area where the old adage that
“Hard cases make bad law” comes into play. To make good policy decisions
about assisted suicide for our society, we need to follow the rabbit
trail all the way down the hole to see where it leads. Marilyn Golden, a
senior policy analyst for the Disability Rights Education and Defense
Fund, warned that “assisted suicide is not progressive, in fact, it puts
many vulnerable people at risk, and we have already seen examples of
that where it is legal.” Folks concerned about the rights of people with
disabilities are worried about this.
Full Article & Source:
Brain Cancer Will Likely Kill Me, But There’s No Way I’ll Kill Myself
Full Article & Source:
Brain Cancer Will Likely Kill Me, But There’s No Way I’ll Kill Myself
2 comments:
It's such a tough and heartbreaking decision no matter what.
I don't know what I'd do and hope not to ever be in that position. I'm sorry anyone is.
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