After being diagnosed with esophageal cancer at 79, Chuck Knothe of Delaware endured chemotherapy, radiation, and major surgery. Unfortunately, his health quickly deteriorated as the cancer metastasized, leaving him in unrelenting pain that hospice care could only partially ease. Chuck was never an advocate for medical aid in dying before his diagnosis, but his suffering brought a new perspective. In his final days, Chuck hoped to see the Ron Silverio/Heather Block Delaware End-of-Life Options Act pass, so that terminally ill patients like him could choose to peacefully end life on their own terms. Despite momentum, Governor John Carney vetoed the proposed legislation in October, just a few days after Chuck died.
Illinois advocate Andrew Howard, MD, fired back in a letter to the editor of the Chicago Tribune criticizing inaccuracies in a recent op-ed that equated suicide to medical aid in dying for terminally ill patients. “They seem to conflate people in the throes of mental health crises who die by suicide and mentally capable, terminally ill adults who want the option of medical aid in dying to peacefully end unbearable suffering at the very end of life,” he wrote — highlighting that aid-in-dying laws in the U.S. , including the proposed Illinois End-of-Life Options Act (SB 3499), have strict safeguards to protect patients, allowing only mentally capable, terminally ill adults with six months or less to live to self-administer medication.
In August, KFF Health News wrote a story about Francine Milano’s decision to travel from Pennsylvania to Vermont after receiving a terminal diagnosis of ovarian cancer. “I really wanted to take control over how I left this world. I decided that this was an option for me,” said Milano, 61, a Lancaster resident. Since Vermont lifted its residency requirement in May 2023, at least 26 people have traveled there to die peacefully. Milano is grateful she has the power to do so now, while she’s still healthy enough to travel and enjoy life. “I just wish more people had the option.”
Hospice News interviewed Compassion & Choices Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Leadership Council members Victoria Tsze and Dr. Mitsuo Tomita about the disparities Asian American communities face in accessing telehealth. “A reliance on virtual healthcare can exacerbate inequities for Asian Americans if attention is not paid to ensuring language access, improving cultural competence amongst providers, and supporting patients and caregivers in gaining greater digital literacy,” Tsze said. “It risks limiting people’s access to the health care and support they need at the end of their lives. When people lack access to care, they are less likely to have adequate pain management during the dying process and are more likely to have aggressive and invasive treatments at the end of life.”
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