Dame Esther Rantzen, the 85-year-old broadcaster and founder of Childline, has revealed that she does not have much time left as she continues to battle stage four lung cancer. Diagnosed three years ago, she said the drug that had been keeping her alive has stopped working, and a forthcoming scan will show how far the disease has spread.
Writing in The Observer, she stated: 'Last week was the third anniversary of my diagnosis with stage four lung cancer, and to my astonishment, thanks to one of the new miracle drugs, I’m still here. Not for much longer. The drug has stopped working now and a scan next week will reveal how far my disease has metastasised.'
Dame Esther, best known for presenting the BBC programme That's Life, has been a vocal supporter of the assisted dying bill. However, she admitted she will not live long enough to see it become law. She said she would have to travel to Dignitas in Switzerland if her pain becomes unbearable, as assisted dying remains illegal in the UK, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, passed by the House of Commons in June, would allow terminally ill people over 18 with six months left to live to end their lives, subject to approval by two doctors and an expert panel. The bill is currently in the committee stage, with around 1,000 amendments proposed by members of the House of Lords, which Dame Esther criticised as delaying progress.
She said: 'Some members of the House of Lords are doing their very best right now to prevent any change in the current messy, cruel criminal law. Which means they will force more families to watch the terminally ill people they love and care for spend hours, sometimes days and weeks, dying slowly in agony.'
