‘I have incurable cancer – I want to sacrifice months of pain for a peaceful death’

Brian Griffin has incurable humor cancer, helium has spoken retired successful enactment of the assisted dying measure (Image: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard / National World/ SWNS)

Brian Griffin, 72, who has bony marrow cancer, says the instrumentality is indispensable arsenic it means helium tin debar ‘excruciatingly prolonged’ suffering from further chemotherapy.

His archetypal stem compartment transplant gave him 10 steadfast years, but helium past needed different 1 successful 2021 and knows that 2nd transplants don’t past arsenic long.

While helium is good astatine the moment, Brian knows yet its effects volition deterioration off, leaving lone his lone options arsenic much chemotherapy and palliative care.

Brian said: “A comparative of excavation had a horrible, horrible death, squirming astir connected the furniture for hours and hours successful full agony and the aesculapian unit were refusing to springiness them immoderate much symptom relief.

“That idiosyncratic would person benefited from assisted dying and I don’t privation to find myself successful that situation.

“Let’s look it: if a canine oregon different favored was suffering similar that, everyone would deliberation that the lone humane happening to bash would beryllium to assistance it connected its way.

“But due to the fact that we are talking astir quality beings, determination is simply a antithetic absorption and suffering is excruciatingly prolonged.

“Palliative attraction tin beryllium excellent, but successful immoderate – surely not each – cases it lone works for truthful agelong and past the symptom begins to interruption through.”

Brian Griffin astatine location (Image: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard / National World/ SWNS)

A projected alteration successful the instrumentality to let terminally sick radical to take to extremity their lives volition statesman its transition done Parliament connected November 29, and Brian is simply a large supporter.

For astir 3 years, the Express Give Us Our Last Rights crusade has fought alongside run radical Dignity successful Dying to item this injustice. A petition earlier this twelvemonth gained implicit 200,000 signatures.

The run is backed by Dame Esther Rantzen, who has joined Dignitas aft being diagnosed with terminal lung crab herself.

Despite polls consistently showing that astir members of the nationalist enactment the legalisation of assisted dying for the terminally ill, MPs person truthful acold failed to correspond their constituents connected the issue, and successful 2015 voted down a akin Bill by 330 votes to 118.

MPs volition beryllium fixed a escaped ballot connected the measure which proposes a instrumentality which would beryllium applicable lone to those aged implicit 18 of dependable caput and with less than six months to live.

Additionally, cases would person to beryllium approved by 2 doctors and a judge.

Brian added: “Other radical tin person palliative attraction but I don’t privation it. I americium prepared to sacrifice a fewer months of surviving with utmost symptom to spell sooner and much comfortably.

“Of people each attraction indispensable beryllium taken that a diligent isn’t being coerced into doing this oregon they don’t cognize what they are asking for.

"But erstwhile the symptom gets truly atrocious I privation the close to beryllium capable to accidental ‘now is the clip for maine to go.’”

Travelling to the Dignitas assisted dying session successful Switzerland, Brian said, would outgo £15,000 – wealth he’d alternatively springiness to his children.

He’d besides person to spell alone, arsenic if helium were accompanied by woman Denise oregon either of his children, they would beryllium astatine hazard of prosecution.

Brian Griffin and his woman Denise astatine their location (Image: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard / National World/ SWNS)

He added: “The measure seems good to maine with plentifulness of checks and balances. It would beryllium the astir tightly regulated assisted dying instrumentality successful the satellite if it were passed.

“There are spiritual groups, immoderate receiving backing to effort to get it stopped, and others, including Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson for whom I person large respect, talking astir the ‘slippery slope’ of this instrumentality past allowing relatives to bump disconnected disabled relatives they privation escaped of.

“But the spiritual arguments onslaught maine arsenic ridiculous, and the slippery slope statement is astir thing that is conscionable not going to happen.

“This instrumentality would lone use to radical whom 2 doctors hold person little than six months to live, are compos mentis and a justice volition beryllium progressive arsenic well.

“If this instrumentality isn’t passed oregon my wellness deteriorates earlier it is, I accidental I could spell to Switzerland if I had the money, but I would overmuch alternatively springiness that to my children.”

Brian was a secondary schoolhouse teacher earlier helium had to curtail his vocation aft being diagnosed with bowel crab successful 2007.

Surgery and chemo tackled that peculiar illness, but 3 years aboriginal helium bizarrely suffered a shattered limb picking up conscionable a 3kg weight.

And aft overmuch puzzlement from assorted doctors, it was yet concluded that helium had aggregate myeloma, a crab of the bony marrow.

Speaking astir his attraction journey, Brian said: “Once a 2nd transplant wears off, it’s conscionable chemotherapy until you get fed up oregon walk away.

“To beryllium honorable it was specified an horrendous acquisition having the 2nd transplant that I wouldn’t spell done it again unless it was guaranteeing maine galore much years.”

Wife Denise said: “Brian went done chemotherapy connected 2 occasions and helium recovered it hard dealing with that.

“I americium acrophobic astir however Brian volition woody with it if helium needs it again.

“If it’s your prime not to enactment successful assisted dying, I’m definite you don’t person to.

“But you should person the prime to beryllium capable to enactment successful it, and the lone mode to bash that is to marque assisted dying legal.”