Mimi’s sense of humor belied her terminal illness of metastatic breast cancer. She had a “thing” for giraffes because, like her, they are “gracefully awkward and awkwardly graceful.” She was madly in love with her husband, Jesse, her 5 children and 3 grandchildren. Mimi told me she was devastated that she “will not get to grow old enough to see what Jesse’s wrinkled ass looks like as an old man.” She felt fortunate to live in Colorado where medical aid in dying is legal so she would be able to utilize the law on her own terms. Mimi accessed Colorado’s End Of Life Options Act to get her prescription earlier this year and opted to take the prescription on August 5th. Jesse just returned from a 3 week tour around the U.S. where he sprinkled her ashes in meaningful places that he and Mimi had discussed and gave family members gifts she had left for them. He did this alone…Jesse, you are an amazingly strong man. We will see you in California soon for your next U.S. “tour”.

Andy was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017. She is 41. Please don’t say you’re sorry, it makes her nuts! Andy lives her “dash”. She has a tattoo on her arm with her date of diagnosis *DOD” and an arrow. The time between the DOD and her death is her “dash” and she is living her dash to the fullest. (It’s also the name of her dog.) She is coming to CA for the first time ever in November to shoot with us for this documentary. She is an open book and willing to share her experiences including intimate pictures of her treatments and reactions. She had a “Ta Ta to My Tatas” party, pre-double mastectomy, which was covered by PEOPLE Magazine. Andy is a vocal advocate for medical aid in dying which is still not legal in her home state of Pennsylvania. More to come…

Lee and Paul live in Massachusetts where medical aid in dying is still not legal. Lee has spent the last year in isolation because her immune system is compromised by her stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. Lee is an RN and psychotherapist so she is acutely aware of what her body is telling her. She has been working with Dr. Roger Kligler (also profiled here) to get medical aid in dying legislation voted through. Lee and Paul are looking into moving to Maine where medical aid in dying is legal as she would like to have control over her end of life options to be free of pain when she chooses. She doesn’t trust that the law will be passed in time for her to use it in her own home.

Susan has stage 4 breast cancer and has been an advocate for medical aid in dying in New York for the last 8 years! Her 22 year old son just got married and is expecting his first child, her granddaughter, in the coming year. She thought he was moving a little fast but when she asked him about it he said “I want you to be here. I don’t want to take the chance”. She is over the moon. Her liver numbers have dramatically increased with her latest ultrasound. She wants to make meaningful memories with the people she loves before she can’t. “What I have is not fixable. I’m going to die one way or the other with this disease”. I want to get in front of Senator Joe Morelli to get his commitment to sign the medical aid in dying legislation in New York. I actually ran into Senator Chuck Schumer on the street in NYC and asked him if he would sign the legislation. He said he would! I’ll keep advocating for as long as I physically am able so that others going through this in the future don’t have to.

Matt has stage 4 metastatic lymphoma. It’s in his brain and his bones. He was driving across the country when he noticed a pea sized lump that turned into a walnut size lump in about a week and a half around his ear! What he thought was nothing much, was actually melanoma. Since his diagnosis, he has had spine surgery from his spine collapsing, immunotherapy, fatigue, swollen testicles, aches, adrenal problems, chemo, radiation…you name it! He used to be fit and trim and has now gained over 100 lbs because of the side effects from the drugs (steroids) he has to take. “My job was and is to stay alive. Now my job is to stay alive comfortably. Medical aid in dying is a tool that I want in my tool box. There is a joy in the freedom of knowing when to choose. MAID is a peaceful, more natural way to die. You are still able to smile and have some enjoyment. I want to go out smiling while listening to Jimmy Buffett.”

Doctor Roger Kligler is an internist. He knows exactly what his own body is telling him at any given moment. He lives with metastatic prostate cancer, myasthenia gravis, diabetes, and sarcoidosis, to name a few. He understands the disease’s symptoms, the tests, the results and the effects of the drugs he takes on his body. He stopped working 6 1/2 years ago and has focused on working to get medical aid in dying legal in MA. He says they have the votes needed for a September vote….but the law has been voted down before. As a back up plan, he is suing the State of MA (Kligler v Healy) to get a judicial declaration saying that medical aid in dying is not criminal in Massachusetts, and if it is prohibited under common law, the prosecution of any physician providing medical aid in dying should be found unconstitutional. Roger’s motto of “one for all and all for one” is to help those that aren’t in a position like he is to access medical aid in dying. He understands his medications enough to know how to die peacefully when he chooses. He feels everyone should have this humane right.

While 8 1/2 months pregnant, Erika was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. Ironically, she is a professor of Medical Social Work and teaches a class titled “Ethics in Aging.” She lobbied the New Mexico state legislator for medical aid in dying 2 years prior to her diagnosis! The law recently passed. Erika and her 2 kids, one in college and a toddler, decided to move home to Arkansas so her family could help. Erika is always in pain and trying new treatments. When one treatment stops working, she tries another. Erika knows her time is limited and continues to advocate for medical aid in dying in Arkansas in the hopes that she may control her death under her own terms. (When her pain is too much or no treatments are left to try.) She doesn’t want her family to watch her suffer nor does she want to suffer any more that she already has when she decides the time has come. She is a planner and has already taken steps to ensure her kids are taken care of after she’s gone. But for now, she continues to teach, counsel and enjoy being a mom, her favorite job of all.

Isa was diagnosed with stage 4 uterine cancer in 2017. To cope with the terminal diagnosis, Isa became a certified death doula. Isa’s perspective on life is to look at the bright side not the worse case scenario. When her time comes, she has decided to host a “living party” with music, dancing and wine to say “thank you” to her friends and family. She wants everyone to leave the party with a good memory. She will feel at peace because she will have said her goodbyes. Isa wants to call her own shots. Her husband, Peter, understands, finds it painful but supports her. She is working with Compassion & Choices to get the state of Florida on board where the law has not been passed. Isa is willing to move to another state where medical aid in dying is legal but would rather not leave her family and friends. Upon arriving to Isa’s in Miami, we were met with the smell of garlic cooking, quick introductions all around and a home buzzing with activity. Isa surrounds herself daily with love and laughter, ingredients that she pours into her body and soul to keep herself happy and healthy...along with some good wine.

Talk about a strong lady! Allyne has had years to shore up her convictions about California’s Death With Dignity Act. Allyne has ridden a roller coaster of diagnosis from doctors who all predicted her slow, painful and imminent death from stage 4 lymphoma and a brain tumor. That was over 12 years ago. She’s weathered many treatments, side effects, the stopping of those treatments and clinical trials to a course of successful homeopathy. She is a loud voice for medical aid in dying (as well as AIDS and Unions) and when her day comes hopes to be able to find a doctor who will step up to prescribe for her. She runs a local Women’s Cancer Center in Santa Cruz to help educate other terminal women about their end of life options and works as a hospice volunteer facilitating Death Cafes which have become a great source of support for those facing their own mortality.

As the youngest of 5 from a small town in Michigan, Trisha decided to move back to her childhood home from D.C. after receiving a diagnosis of stage 4 breast cancer. The violent riots that broke out in her neighborhood had forced her to stay inside. Not one to be “caged in,” she moved home for what she thought would be a temporary visit. That was almost a year and a half ago. After 4 years in the Army, subsequent work in military intelligence and then as an activist for issues such as the environment and animal rights, Trisha has now turned her efforts towards her own well being. She is actively pursuing happiness and finding joy in each day. As a staunch advocate for medical aid in dying, Trisha has a plan for the end of her life. But…for the foreseeable future, there are still bottles of Maker’s to be toasted, and parties to be thrown. Cheers to life!

“Unless it touches your life, chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML,a rare blood cancer) it’s hard to understand. I am tired all the time. I bruise easily.” A bone marrow transplant is an option that she has chosen not to pursue. She feels at her age it would be too difficult to survive. Sue is no longer working but when she’s up to it, she loves to garden and bird watch. She has multiple bird houses where families of birds come to nest. Sue is a really good cook. She used to host a show where she shared her healthy recipes. Her husband, Ed, is particularly happy with this ability! We met her boys, Mike and John when we visited Rochester. We got some pretty funny stories but the upshot from our interview is that there’s a lot of love and support for Sue and her choice to advocate and eventually use medical aid in dying.

Imagine mixing pro bono work for friends with cancer, being a mom to 2 young boys, moving in with your parents after a terminal metastatic breast cancer diagnosis at age 38, volunteering for about 5 different organizations (including Compassion & Choices) and undergoing surgeries, chemo and constant scans/blood work and you have Abigail. She is a beautiful soul with a warm heart and a fierce brain. During our interview, Abigail’s honesty and presence of mind were awesome to witness. But it is her kindness and advocacy for others in the face of her own illness that is awe inspiring. Keep going Abigail. We’re watching.

Ralph met Keo years ago when he was working as a chaplain at an AIDS clinic. They have been together ever since. Their partnership is beautiful to see. Keo cooks, gardens and cares for the fish in their koi pond. Ralph shops, cleans, cooks and writes (he’s self-published 2 books on death with dignity). Ralph’s has 2 grown kids who, along with Keo, understand Ralph’s support of medical aid in dying and his wish to die with dignity. Should his chemo treatments for multiple myeloma stop being effective or he becomes stage 4, Ralph will not continue treatment. He has had a good life and is not afraid of death. Ralph has decided he will have a party to say goodbye to family and friends on his own terms.

“If it haunts you, face it” are lyrics from a Tame Impala song that Danna has tattooed on the inside of her right arm. This is how this ‘bull with horns’ of a girl is facing the rhabdomyosarcoma that will eventually end her young life. A friend of hers from Finland where she lived and attended music school these last few years posted a picture of her with the caption: “Danna is fun and dying”. There is no mincing words with her. She is straightforward, honest and realistic. She moved back from Finland to her parent’s place in Minnesota where she has just begun a clinical trial. Danna is spending time with her “boyfriend” Luis, (a total mensch) her parents, Candy and Dan and other numerous friends that are constantly surrounding this joyous human. Her smile is infectious. She had me at “OMG I’m so excited you’re coming to visit”. Her advocacy for MAID at such a young age (25) is astonishing. Her grasp of what is meaningful in life is beyond her years. Danna, you are beautiful, refreshing and a gift to this project.

Hanna recently visited Los Angeles from Nevada, not for her usual monthly chemo at City of Hope, but for a stop at Barnes & Noble on her book tour. She (and several other authors) penned “Becoming an Unstoppable Woman: 25 strategies to help you achieve the unstoppable mindset”. She co-founded “She Rises Studios” with her daughter, the company behind the book(s) and podcasts that accompany them. Hanna’s 4 children are grown but she and her husband Jerry got custody of Jerry’s 9 year old daughter after a family tragedy last year so Hanna and Sophia are now tied at the hip. Hanna also has a couple of grandbabies that she cares for weekly when her daughter is working. Oh, and did I mention she has multiple myeloma and is a fierce advocate for medical aid in dying in Nevada? Hanna has done numerous interviews, articles and appearances on tv shows to try to get legislation going in her home state which she has found extremely frustrating. So what’s next? Get ready Nevada, Hanna has now decided to run for office to get shit done ! My money’s on you darlin’.

It’s unusual to speak to 50 people in one day about someone and have all of them say the same thing but that’s what happened yesterday when I shot with Andrew. This die hard Blackhawks fan, hockey player, special ed teacher and stage 4 colorectal cancer patient, is, in the words of his many supporters, kind -hearted, loyal, positive, hard working, patient, warm, friendly, an awesome hockey player and an all around amazing guy. When Andrew’s former team captain, Kurt, heard we were coming to shoot Andrew for the doc, he put the word out to the community. Everyone pitched in to rent an hour of ice at a local rink, get a wood burning pizza oven for a post game beer/pizza party and raise enough money to help Andrew with his medical bills. People that had played hockey with Flack (everyone calls him by his last name) came out in support from all over the US. I spoke with guys who’d flown in from Michigan, Florida and Illinois. Some hadn’t seen Andrew in years but when they heard about his situation, they showed up…because, they said, Flack always showed up for them…an awesome legacy for such a young guy. Andrew and his roommate, Hasban, have a podcast advocating for Death With Dignity. You can listen to it here. Flack is intelligent, inclusive, kind and honest. You’ll definitely get why he has such a huge fan base. PEC is a language Andrew uses with some of his special ed kids. He has a tattoo of the words “Take A Break” in PEC on his arm. He also has a tattoo of a slice of pizza with mushrooms and pepperoni. It’s what Flack and his many friends did together yesterday. They took a break with their dear friend and ate a few slices of pizza. The time they spent together was delicious.

Aside from her ALS, there’s nothing wrong with Sandy. That’s why she’s suing the State of California to allow those with ALS and similar disabilities the right to access “assisted” medical aid in dying. The law in CA (and all other states where MAID is legal) is only for those able to self administer the lethal dose of drugs. Although Sandy has lost all mobility and the ability to breathe without a CPAP machine, she is currently still able to swallow. Because of this, Sandy, not ALS, will choose when she leaves this earth. (ALS is always terminal) She is continuing to fight for those that come after her. She desperately wants to stay alive longer for her husband and children. I witnessed the love she is surrounded by. Two of her kids, Kylan (age 24) and Justin (20) are full time caregivers (and have been for the last 4 years since her diagnosis) along with several other angels that are constantly working around her. The family all sleep in the same room every night on the bed, the floor or wherever they can fit. They do this because they are frightened that the CPAP may slip from her nose and Sandy will pass away without them knowing. So sleep is fleeting in an ALS household despite life continuing each day. ALS is a cruel disease. The cruelty is compounded by the fact that Sandy, of sound mind, is not able to stick around longer to soak up the love that is so present around her….and ONLY because those in the CA legislature that are supported by money from groups opposed to the law, will not vote for the humanity inherent in what Sandy sees as her human right….to have assistance from her family and/or doctor to help her exit without being criminally charged for her murder.