As he neared 70 years of age a squamous cell carcinoma between his lip and nose. Surgery and radiation treatment halted this for many years but in his mid-80s it returned. Brian had many operations, each one removing small pieces of his nose, cheek and tear ducts but this all ended in 2022 when Brian was 91 and the doctor said, "sorry we cannot do any more for you and the cancer is still spreading!"

That was the worst day for Brian who had confidently, optimistically and willingly followed the medical advice and had each operation feeling this would be the last. Brian had a prosthetic nose and constant eye issues following the removal of his tear ducts. He had spent weeks following surgery and further radiation treatment feeling very sick but had always bounced back ready to go on a cruise, bus trip or take his family out to dinner. On the way back from the hospital in the winter of 2022 Brian sat slumped in the passenger seat, defeated for the first time, "this is it, I have had enough, I don't care if I have to go to Switzerland or jump off a cliff I cannot keep living like this!"

Fortunately for Brian, Voluntary Assisted Dying would become available in Queensland in 2023. This gave him such comfort, and time, time to say goodbye, manage his affairs and with help from the amazing Palliative Care Team extra support to enjoy his last months. He was so grateful to the incredible people in the Queensland Dying with Dignity group who helped him navigate the process to apply for Voluntary Assisted Dying.

His last weeks were very uncomfortable as his mouth deteriorated to the point that eating was difficult and his nose spontaneously bled making outings unpleasant. However, he was determined to say goodbye and as family visited he enjoyed many 'living wakes' his favourite being that he could enjoy a beer and oysters at a local pub!

The final day for Brian, April 17th 2023, was spent with family members sitting and chatting and listening to him rejoice in what had been a great life and, in his words, this will be a great death, everyone should be able to end life when they have had enough.

He joked and chatted right up to the end and his last drink was his favourite, a good sized whisky on the rocks! His family were so comforted that Brian died relaxed in his favourite chair surrounded by love and feeling very grateful that he had this choice.

Jan Irwin - Brian’s daughter

Moya was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on Tuesday 19th May 2020 at 2.30pm. She had gone yellow because the tumour in the head of the pancreas had blocked the main bile duct After the diagnosis in the GP surgery we were told to go to Bundy Base Emergency where they were expecting us, Moya was admitted and held until she could be flown to RBWH in Brisbane for initial surgery that put a stent in her bile duct. She returned to normal colour almost immediately after the surgery.

Once she got back to Bundy she was told she'd need to go on heavy duty chemo to try to shrink the tumour in preparation for the Whipple procedure. She had a PICC line inserted and started chemo in June 2020. She'd had 7 cycles of chemo when she was told around 23rd/end of September 2020 that she was scheduled for the Whipple on 20th November 2020.

Around 4 weeks after the Whipple, 23rd December we were summoned to RBWH where the surgical team informed us that while Moya's recovery had been terrific they told us that sadly, they'd not been able to remove all the tumour Subsequent scans also revealed cancer in surrounding lymph nodes.

After the surgical wounds recovered in the new year 2021 Moya went back on chemo for around 6-8 months and her CA9-90 cancer bloods got right down enough for her to take time off chemo until later in 2022 when as the numbers were rising again she restarted chemo.

By this time the cancer had spread to other organs, particularly the liver where 3 metastatic tumours were getting quite large.

Prior to each chemo Moya had blood tests and in May 2023 the blood tests indicated that her liver could no longer take the rigours of chemo. Her oncologist reluctantly she needed a break from chemo. In early June 2023 after more bloods were done, she was told her that chemo was finished and that she should expect to not be alive at Christmas 2023. The oncologist provided a letter stating that she was terminally ill and had a life expectancy of around 6 months.

Moya immediately contacted QVAD and initiated the VAD approval process. We had the 1st meeting with the Bundaberg VAD team at Bundaberg Base Hospital in early to mid-June 23 and then the 2nd request and then the final request and was approved for VAD.

The "substance" was hand delivered by QVAD pharmacists on Thursday 13th July 2023. She breathed a huge sigh of relief and stated "At last, I am now in control of my life/death!" She requested a celebration and we went out to lunch and celebrated on that day.

We immediately booked a Christmas in July celebration trip to Port Douglas with all the family, as she had been told she would not live to Christmas 2023.

She continued to live as normal life as possible though the cancer spreading relentlessly through her was starting to have effects. She had radiation treatment in mid-December to take pressure off her liver caused by the increasing size of 3 tumours.

Moya and I both worked with the team at the Mon Repos Turtle Centre at Bargara on Thursday night 28th December 2023. We had volunteered there for years and Moya was happy every moment she was there. That was her last shift there.

We celebrated Christmas 2023 as normally as possible. During January 2024 her condition deteriorated more rapidly and she was receiving more in-home palliative care which was a godsend. In early February Moya told me that she was suffering despite increased pain relief and believed she would not make her 69th birthday on 23rd March and that she was wanting to end her life in mid to late February.

We negotiated with family and a date of 1st March was set. By that stage we were getting regular visits by the awesome VAD nurse who together with the palliative care nurse helped us both immensely, as Moya prepared for the end of her life. Moya was a very determined and focussed person and insisted on organising her memorial service for Monday 4th March.

On the 1st March 2024, a Friday, with family and close friends gathered around her and the VAD nurse, who came on her day off, to be with Moya for the end of her life, Moya mixed the substance. After a few muted goodbyes and a glass of excellent champagne, at around 11.15am, Moya drank the VAD substance and had a champers chaser to get rid of the taste.

At 12.17pm the attendant VAD nurse certified Moya's life extinct, and the undertakers were called to take her to their premises.

So ended Moya's pancreatic cancer journey with the assistance of VAD. There was never ever any doubt in her mind that there was a lot of suffering ahead had she not been able to utilise VAD.

Mark Herron.