Canadian mother with stage four cancer pushed to consider euthanasia

A mother in Canada who is recovering from abdominal cancer has reported that a medic raised the subject of euthanasia with her when she was given between two months and two years left to live.

Allison Ducluzeau, who was diagnosed with peritoneal carcinomatosis last year, said that a surgeon told her it could not be treated and suggested: “‘talk to your family, get your affairs in order, talk to them about your wishes’, which was indicating, you know, whether you want to have medically assisted dying or not”.

But after receiving treatment in the US state of Maryland she was able to return to work within just one month and now says she feels “100 per cent”.

‘Disgusted’

The 57-year-old said: “I was disappointed and, in fact, disgusted by the way I was treated.”

“How can you prioritise cases so that people with aggressive stage four cancer get seen by someone and when they do get seen, they get offered treatment and not MAID like I was the first time?”

She added: “There is nothing that I did before I got sick that I can’t do now. I mean, I can ride my bike 15 kilometres and go have dinner with friends and ride home afterwards. I can golf 18 holes without feeling tired. I started running again and I haven’t run for 10 years.”

Canada legalised euthanasia in certain circumstances in 2016, but has already abolished the requirement for a person to be terminally ill and intends to extend it to those who suffer from mental health problems from March 2024.

Tens of thousands

Earlier this year, the Canadian Government reported that deaths by euthanasia and assisted suicide have risen for the sixth year in a row.

The textbook example of just how quickly the 'right' to die becomes a *duty* to die. #carenotkilling pic.twitter.com/qNPyj7h3xR

— The Christian Institute (@christianorguk) November 24, 2023

In 2022, under the country’s so-called Medical Assistance in Dying regime (MAID), doctors have directly killed or assisted the suicide of 13,241 people – up nearly a third on the previous year.

Since it was first legalised in 2016, MAID has resulted in the deaths of 44,958 Canadians, with the number of those killed through the scheme rising by more than 350 per cent between 2017 and 2022.