29-year-old Brittany Maynard planned to end her life tomorrow. Now she's changed her mind.

Warning: This post deals with issues around assisted suicide and could be triggering for some readers.

Update:

Brittany Maynard the 29-year-old terminally ill woman who planned to take her own life this Saturday after a battle with terminal brain cancer has released a new video saying that she may or may not choose to die on that date.

“So if Nov. 2 comes along and I’ve passed, I hope my family is still proud of me and the choices I made,” says Brittany.

Brittany said in the video that she is still finding joy in her everyday life.

On her web site she writes “I did this because I want to see a world where everyone has access to death with dignity, as I have had. My journey is easier because of this choice. “

Previously, Mamamia wrote:

Brittany Maynard is 29 and has less than a month to live. She knows when, where and how she will pass.

She knows this because she has chosen all of it, in a courageous battle to take control of her life away from a brain tumour.

After experiencing debilitating headaches, Brittany Maynard found out she has brain cancer. In January this year, Brittany was diagnosed with grade II astrocytoma. Then, just 70 days after receiving surgery, Brittany’s prognosis dramatically worsened.

“I went from having potentially years of time to being told I had like 6 months,” Brittany says in the video. Brittany was diagnosed with the most aggressive and lethal form of brain cancer – glioblastoma. Studies have shown that regardless of treatment, few patients survive beyond three years.

Brittany says that she is taking control away from the cancer: “I don’t have to die the way it’s been described to me that my brain tumour would take me.”

With few options in her home state of California, Brittany and her family moved to Oregon, one of five states in the US that has ‘death-with-dignity’ laws. These laws mean that terminally ill and mentally competent adult patients who qualify can be prescribed life-ending medication that is quick and painless, if they choose to take it.

Brittany has chosen the date she will pass, 1^st November, one day after her husband’s birthday so she can celebrate with him. She knows this is the best option for her, saying “I hope to pass in peace.”

Brittany’s quote at the end of the video is a beautiful message to embrace life and love. “The reason to consider life and what’s of value is to make sure you’re not missing out. Seize the day. What’s important to you, what do you care about, what matters – pursue that, forget the rest.”

To find out more about Brittany, go to The Brittany Maynard Fund here.

If you or anyone you know needs help seek out Beyond Blue or call Lifeline on 131 114

This post was republished with full permission via The Glow.