{"id":135688,"date":"2023-12-19T00:21:07","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T00:21:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/?p=135688"},"modified":"2023-12-19T00:21:07","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T00:21:07","slug":"esther-rantzen-says-family-are-in-difficult-position-as-she-joins-dignitas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/celebrities\/esther-rantzen-says-family-are-in-difficult-position-as-she-joins-dignitas\/","title":{"rendered":"Esther Rantzen says family are in difficult position as she joins Dignitas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dame Esther Rantzen reveals how long she has left to live<\/h3>\n

Dame Esther Rantzen has announced that she has joined assisted dying group, Dignitas, as she doesn\u2019t want her family\u2019s final memories of her to be \u201cpainful\u201d. The journalist, 83, is battling stage four lung cancer and was told by her oncologist that she will die \u201csometime in the next 10 years\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sharing her decision on BBC\u2019s The Today Podcast, the mother-of-three told hosts Nick Robinson and Amol Rajan: \u201cI have joined Dignitas. I have in my brain thought, well, if the next scan says nothing’s working I might buzz off to Zurich.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, you know, it puts my family and friends in a difficult position because they would want to go with me. And that means that the police might prosecute them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Esther added that if she were the prime minister, she would call for a free vote on assisted dying, proclaiming: \u201cWe\u2019ve got to do something. At the moment, it\u2019s not really working is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

As for how her family have taken her decision to join Dignitas, the That\u2019s Life! presenter said that they have accepted that it\u2019s her \u201cchoice\u201d.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong> Esther Rantzen hands over the reins of her beloved Childline to daughter Rebecca<\/strong><\/p>\n

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She continued: \u201cI explained to them that actually, I don’t want their last memories of me to be painful because if you watch someone you love having a bad death, that memory obliterates all the happy times and I don’t want that to happen. I don’t want to be that sort of victim in their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Esther’s comments are a further endorsement of the Express\u2019s Give Us Our Last Rights Campaign which strives to change the law on assisted dying.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Esther quit Childline after working at the charity for 37 years. Her health struggles forced her to step back as president of the youth counselling service and hand over the reigns to her daughter Rebecca Wilcox, 43.<\/p>\n

Discussing her decision to step down, Dame Esther told The Express: \u201cChildLine has always had a very special place in my heart ever since we launched in 1986. But I have been concerned I have not been able recently to listen to children, meet staff and volunteers and spread awareness of our crucial lifeline the way I used to, due to my own health issues.<\/p>\n

Don’t miss… <\/strong>
Layton Williams slammed as a ‘limelight hogger’ by Esther Rantzen[LATEST] <\/strong>
Dame Esther asks for help in combatting loneliness among older people[NEWS] <\/strong>
Esther Rantzen embraces Christmas amid cancer fight and reflects on life[INSIGHT] <\/strong><\/p>\n

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