In August 2023 Thomas Higgins was diagnosed with stage three pancreatic cancer at the age of 71. His family are now witnessing him suffer relentlessly in the final months of his life. His grandson Joe, our Policy and Campaigns Officer, explains why Thomas should have the choice of an assisted death.
Many people faced with a life-ending disease would crumble. Not Thomas. Our entire family has been in awe of his fighting spirit since he was given six months to live. We’re all convinced it’s this fighting spirit that’s allowed him to far surpass doctors’ predictions. In the first year after his diagnosis, his condition was manageable. He could spend quality time with family and friends. He visited the grave of his favourite musician, the BeeGees’ Robin Gibb. He even booked out the local bowling club and invited everyone he knew and loved to celebrate his life. We will always be thankful for that year.
Thomas has defied expectations in more ways than one. We were told that people with terminal pancreatic cancer deteriorate suddenly and that most die within a few weeks. In Thomas’s case, his decline has been painful and prolonged. Over the past eight months we have watched him slowly fade away.
It is heart-breaking to witness someone you love endure this mental and physical torture over such an extended period.
A man who famously refused to sit down, my grandad now struggles to walk just a few steps and requires 24-hour-care. His appetite has vanished and he has lost the energy to read, do his crosswords, or even watch football on TV. He sleeps for most of the day. When he is awake Thomas is increasingly confused, agitated, and anxious. It is heart-breaking to witness someone you love endure this mental and physical torture over such an extended period.
End-of-life care in this country needs to improve. There’s no doubt about that. We had to fight for Thomas’s brief period in the Marie Curie hospice and now a nursing home. Thankfully, many members of our family work in the NHS, and know how to advocate on his behalf. But despite the best efforts of his healthcare team, no treatment or care plan has spared Thomas the suffering and indignity of these past few months.
Thomas hasn’t spoken about whether, given the choice, he would opt to have an assisted death. But we do know that, as an avowed humanist, my grandad believes this choice should be available for terminally ill people who want it. At the end of the day, that’s what this debate is all about. Not the choice to die, but the choice over how you die in such truly devastating circumstances.
[Joe’s story was reported in The National and Prospect.]
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