Marion Pember shared his story in May of 2023. Over 10 years ago I taught our Sunday school class a lesson on end-of-life options and planning. As part of the presentation, I presented voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED) as one of the choices one could make. Even though medical aid in dying isn’t an option in…

Kate Riley shared her story in January of 2023. In 2014, after over a decade of remission, my mother, Vee, received heart-rending news. Her breast cancer was back and it had metastasized – nine malignant tumors, seven were in her bones which caused excruciating pain from the microfractures they produced. I had spent decades volunteering…

Beth shared her story in July of 2024. Up until the day before he died, my dad was giving me book recommendations. Always an avid reader, he encouraged in me a lifelong love of books, cribbage and sports. It’s only fitting that the passions he passed on to me in life are now followed by…

The goal of good end-of-life care is to provide as much physical and emotional comfort as possible. Not aimed at curing illness, the following options focus on comfort, dignity and quality of life. For many, it is reassuring just to know that options exist. There is no one right answer or choice; preferences vary from…

An excerpt from the Albuquerque Journal guest column, “Give terminally ill option beyond dying of thirst,” by Albuquerque resident Revathi A-Davidson, published February 19, 2021:   “How often have we said, ‘I am dying of thirst,’ with little real sense of what that really means or what it looks like? Witnessing someone, especially a close friend,…

Compassion & Choices is the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit organization working to improve care and expand options for the end of life. We support individuals and families, provide information, educate and advocate, locally and nationally. We believe people — not the healthcare system — should be in charge of their end-of-life decisions. We have…

As a leader in the end-of-life care and options movement, Compassion & Choices strives to provide space for the public and healthcare providers to discuss and learn from one another on these topics. Recent events garnered strong interest and record attendance.  In November, we held Everything You Want to Know about VSED but Were Afraid…

Coloradan Leigh Suskin learned about Compassion & Choices when doing research to help her mother, Terry Goldberg, who had been diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), a rare, fatal, neurodegenerative disease. “We just wanted to know all of the options out there so she could make the right decision,” says Suskin. “Instead of looking on…

In 2011, after years of health challenges and with the blessing of his family, Trisha White’s father chose to end his suffering by voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED). Because medical aid in dying is not available in his home state of Michigan, VSED was his only option. “We stayed by his side, hoping it…

Christina shared her story in March of 2022. First my mother, then my brother, showed me what it means to die on your own terms. My mother Annabel Clark was a force of nature. If she got curious about something, she’d study it. My father was a career minister, and when he retired, Mom enrolled…