Dame Esther Rantzen expresses that observing the seasons shift and spending quality time with her grandchildren is “precious,” acknowledging that this could potentially be her final spring.
The 83-year-old journalist and television presenter, who is battling stage four lung cancer, reiterates her advocacy for a discussion and vote on the legalisation of assisted dying, emphasising her desire for the assurance of a “dignified” passing.
“It’s a constant background to everything I do,” she remarks. “I’m watching the spring flowers come out, thinking: ‘This is probably my last spring.’ When I talk to my grandchildren when they come and visit me, I’m very aware these moments are precious. They may be the last memories they have of me.
“My own death is constantly in my mind. It would give me so much confidence if I could also know that however the illness progresses, whatever pain it causes, wherever it strikes me next, I will still have the choices of a pain-free, dignified private death surrounded by the people I love. I’m not demanding that everybody in the world agrees with me, I’m just saying let’s debate all the issues now that we’ve got international evidence and we know the public attitude is in favour,” Dame Esther conveyed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.