Six years ago on October 18th my grandfather was told his cancer had spread, was growing quickly, and would most likely kill him within 6 months. He was 62 at the time and other than the cancer relatively healthy and active. Being twelve at the time I was scared but never fully grasped the situation in its entirety. Now that I'm 18 and one day hope to be an oncology nurse I understand it and have begun to ask my parents questions about his treatment and decisions he made. Little did I know shortly after his diagnosis he looked into physicians assisted suicide. He lived in Vermont, one of the 5 states that legally allows physicians assisted suicide, the choice was his and available to him.  He chose to fight, and I will forever be grateful for the two extra years I got to spend with I'm post diagnosis, but the point is he got to make a choice. Personally medicine has always fascinated me, especially the shortcomings and what people do when medicine fails them. If my grandfather had decided physicians assisted suicide honestly I would have understood, maybe not at that time but in the long run. It makes me think about what makes a person a prime candidate for physicians assisted suicide and how its unfair that it is not a standardized practice across the United States. 

There are terminally ill people across the country who have decided to go through with physicians assisted suicide like Brittany Maynard. An activist for death with dignity, a more eloquent term for physicians assisted suicide, Brittany was very vocal about her choice to end her life on her own terms. However, living in California at the time of her diagnosis the option was not available to her unless she moved. So that's exactly what she and her husband did they packed up and established residency in Oregon, which is a complicated process. Brittany wrote a piece for CNN before her death titled "My Right to Death With Dignity at 29" where she explained her thought process behind her choice, not that she should have to justify it. Once Brittany had obtained her prescription that would ultimately end her life it was on her own terms. She died in her bedroom surrounded by family and friends while she was still able to recognize them. Her incredible advocacy for her right gives her a strong set of credibility and experience to write about.

Seemingly everyone has an opinion of physicians assisted suicide. A New York doctor Juahar Sandeep was once asked by a patient for an assisted suicide. He was forced to say no due to las in NY. This caused him to reflect on the validity of the ability for someone to receive physicians assisted suicide. His position on the issue is somewhere in the middle. He feels that in very few cases physicians assisted suicide is a feasible option. He also feels that depression from a person's diagnosis could push them to this position and therefore calls for more extensive psychiatric counseling. As a cardiologist he doesn't necessarily see many terminally ill cancer patients however he does deal with patients going into heart failure. Overall he feels that hospice care should be the answer for a majority of terminally ill patients. He could be partially bias due to his involvement in the medical field and always having hope for major medical advancements.

The laws for physicians assisted suicide range greatly across the world. Some countries, like the United States, allow it in some locations but it is illegal in others. Other countries, like Switzerland, have a more open policy. Swiss law on this matter is quite unique. There is no law making physicians assisted suicide legal but there is no law against it either. A statute says that euthanizing a person must be unselfish. Therefore, if a patient requests it and the doctor follows though they are protected from being prosecuted as a murderer. In official Swiss records there is no difference in suicide and physicians assisted suicide. The article was written over 10 years ago so the laws may have progressed in that time. The author, Samina Hurst, was a post doctoral fellow and presents her information very thoroughly. 

This matter is arguable because there are many sides to the argument of physicians assisted suicide. Some feel it should be legalized nationwide, some feel like it shouldn't be offered anywhere, and some feel that it should be an option but with a longer process and limited access. Seeing the different sides and opinions is interesting and having a source that was going through the process with first hand experience is very unique. In my personal opinion physicians assisted suicide should be available to all terminally ill patients but I do agree with the fact that there needs to be a process before it is approved and put into motion. As for my research question I need to narrow it down so I can really go in depth on what I'm interested in. 
