'I cannot reconcile with a law forcing some to die in agony'

ASSISTED DYING BILL PLEA OF LAY PREACHER WITH TERMINAL CANCER

- By Hanna Geissler Health Editor

A CHURCH of England lay preacher with terminal breast cancer is urging members of the House of Lords to “create a more compassionate society” by supporting the assisted dying Bill this week.

Pamela Fisher, 64, has outlived the three-year life expectancy she was given when the disease was detected four years ago.

She suffers worsening pain and deteriorating mobility but said her “biggest fear of all” is dying “in excruciating pain or distress”.

Pamela added: “I don’t have a bone that’s free of cancer. It’s all the way through my skeleton and in other places as well.

“The thing that actually really undermines my quality of life is the idea of a bad death, of dying in extreme suffering and pain. That absolutely terrifies me.”

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed a landmark third reading in the House of Commons in June. It is due to face a second reading in the House of Lords on Friday.

Fear

Labour MP Kim Leadbeater introduced the Bill to the Commons last year. Former academic Pamela was diagnosed in 2021 after noticing aches and pains, particularly in her hips. Doctors initially thought she had simply overdone it while following exercise videos made by fitness coach Joe Wicks during lockdown.

After tests in hospital, she was asked to make an urgent GP appointment. Pamela checked her NHS records online before attending and saw the words “extensive metastatic disease”. She said: “It was like time stopped for a moment.

“When I saw that, I knew I had incurable cancer. We'd had cases in the family and I knew the implications.”