"I want to go when people remember me as being peaceful and able to say goodbye," says Therese McLean, who has been diagnosed with aggressive metastatic breast cancer. She's urging Queensland MPs to vote Yes to the voluntary assisted dying bill.

My mother suffered horrendously. I implore the government to take urgent action to legalise voluntary euthanasia so that our citizens do not have to suffer either a chronic or terminal illness. 

Our beautiful Mum, Beryl, passed away just before midnight on Wednesday 31 July, 2019 aged 85 from cancer. My two sisters, Joanne and Kylie, and brother, Robert were with me at the time.

As at June 2019, I am living with Stage IV incurable metastatic breast cancer. I am 55 years of age. I am an active and passionate lobbyist for voluntary assisted dying legislation in Australia and across the world.

In the absence of Voluntary Assisted Dying legislation in Queensland, in July 2019 I made application for an assisted death in Switzerland.  My application was approved via the Swiss “Green Light”.  I have always intended to travel to Switzerland when my treatment options no longer ‘contain’ the disease. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that choice is not available at this time (June 2020).

This is my story.

I held my mother's hand until her last breath. She had metastatic melanoma and had faded away to a skeleton. It was horrendous watching her and not being able to do anything to ease her suffering. Following this I nursed my bedridden husband for 18 months while he also, a former big-muscled man, faded away to a skeleton. I do not want to die like these much loved people.

In January 2016 my mother was diagnosed with stage 5 peritoneal cancer - a type of cancer that was both inoperable and terminal. Initially her oncologist said that without chemotherapy she would have “weeks not months” to live, and that without chemotherapy, there was no hope that she would make her 60th wedding anniversary in January 2017.