A helpless man whose life has been 'destroyed by cancer' as he 'suffocates to death' wants to be given the option to terminate his own life. Stephen James Davies, 62 says his life is 'worse than a nightmare' as he suffers from excruciating pain every day which leaves him struggling to walk to his kitchen without gasping for breath.
The 62-year-old from Cardiff was diagnosed with stage four lymphoma cancer and had been ill for many years in the lead up to his diagnosis, Wales Online reports. The distressed man who doesn't necessarily 'want to die' insists he is not considering 'suicide' but says he 'should really be allowed to end my life now respectably'.
Mr Davies, who heartbreakingly admits he 'thinks about dying every day', said: "I'm basically suffocating to death here, I'm getting pain in my body, it's worse than a nightmare. I'm living this dreadful life, I have no autonomy, I'm getting worse.
"I can't get upstairs. I can't read a book because I don't have the concentration. Chemo has damaged my mind. I was a smart guy before with a good memory but that's gone now.
"I'm not a suicide type. I'm not talking about suicide. I don't want to die. I love life. I want to live but not when I don't have any quality of life."
The furthest Stephen can manage is a taxi to Cathays graveyard where he likes to relax in the peace and quiet or a short trip to City farm where he enjoys bird watching. Mr Davies was 59-years-old when he went to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff and was told by doctors that the lumps in his groin and extreme weight loss were the result of stage four lymphoma cancer.
He claims that doctors failed to recognise his symptoms after he spent years 'in and out of A&E'. He explained: "I had been ill for many years. Things hadn't been right I'd say for a decade at least and in that time I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia.
"Prior to the cancer diagnosis I just couldn't sleep through the night and I'd lost around three stone in a three-week period. They were just giving me sleeping tablets because I didn't sleep at all.
"They should have discovered the cancer a long time ago. I pulled my trousers down at one stage to a doctor showing him all the lumps." Following a rectal examination, Mr Davies learned he had an enlarged prostate but was not initially sent for any additional testing.
He asked for an MRI scan which was carried out on a weekend and the following Monday he received a call from the hospital who told him that his prostate was fine but he unfortunately had follicular lymphoma cancer stage four. Mr Davies said. "This cancer must have been affecting me all these years. And over that period of years I lost my health."
The 62-year-old initially received chemotherapy for his cancer and said that despite the side effects being 'horrendous' he was told he was in partial remission around two years ago. However, his cancer 'came back very quickly' and he was put on a course of very strong drugs including REVLIMID but the treatment made him so ill he was forced to stop.
Mr Davies revealed his current symptoms are enlarged spleen and liver which are impacting his lungs so much he is basically slowly suffocating from being unable to breathe. His other symptoms include extreme fatigue and pain throughout the body.
He also had a chest drain placed on each side of his body which have both now been removed but aren't healing well as one side 'continually leaks'. He said: "If there was a supervised medical way of doing it [ending his life], I would do it. It would be the last thing I'd want to do because I'm frightened of death.
"But I believe there should be assisted dying in the UK. It's sickening how society seems geared to prolong life including that of those condemned to chronic suffering. Britain should urgently look at assisted dying as an option."
Mr Davies' thoughts are supported by campaign group Dignity in Dying which says the "blanket ban" on legal assisted dying leaves people suffering in "desperate situations". The group are fighting for the law to be changed for terminally ill, mentally competent adults with six months or less to live, which according to a Populus survey in 2019 84% of the British public supported.
Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying, said: “Our thoughts are with Mr Davies at this difficult time. Terminally ill people must have the care and support they need to live their lives with dignity, as well as to die with dignity when the time comes, whatever their wishes may be.
"But under the blanket ban on assisted dying, many, like Mr Davies, are left in desperate situations, contemplating the unimaginable or facing prolonged or painful deaths despite end-of-life care. This is not the safe, compassionate healthcare we should expect in the UK.
"Under a robust, transparent assisted dying law, people would be far more able to have open conversations with their medical team about their fears and wishes for the end of life, with the option only open to those who meet strict criteria and are making a clear, settled decision in full knowledge of all care and choices open to them."
"Assisted Dying Bills are being considered in Scotland, Jersey and the Isle of Man while in December 2022, the Health and Social Care Select Committee announced the first ever House of Commons inquiry into assisted dying in England and Wales".
When approached for comment, Cardiff and Vale University health board said it was unable to discuss individual patient cases.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
