Dianna Dunn lives in Massachusetts, where medical aid in dying is not yet a legal end-of-life option. Living with a terminal illness, she is dedicating her time and energy to advocate for passage of the Massachusetts End of Life Options Act (H2505/S1486).
I live a simple, joyful life on a quiet piece of land in Wendell, Massachusetts, where I tend to my gardens, care for my animals, and spend time with my son and his family, who live nearby. I paint, write, volunteer, and enjoy every small beauty this life has to offer.
I am deeply connected to this land and community, and have built a life full of meaning and gratitude.
In October of 2024, everything changed. I was diagnosed with aggressive stage IIIb melanoma. The cancer spread quickly to my lymph nodes, and I learned the mutation I carry has no cure. The best doctors could offer was immunotherapy—a grueling treatment with severe and often permanent side effects: chronic pain, memory loss, muscle wasting, and damage to my organs. Even if it slowed the cancer, I would likely never recover the vibrant life I love. This is not something I am willing to accept.
I did the research. I sat with the decision. And I chose something different: I chose joy. I am choosing to live the time I have left doing what I love: cooking, stacking wood, feeding my goats, tending my gardens, and writing.
Still, I know what’s coming. The tumor is growing. It already causes swelling and aching in my leg. Eventually, it will spread to major organs. I will become very ill.
And when that time comes, I want the right to a peaceful, dignified death in my home, surrounded by the beauty and love, around which I’ve built my life around.
But that option isn’t available to me—not in Massachusetts.
Why Every State Needs the Option to Choose Medical Aid in Dying
Currently, the Massachusetts End of Life Options Act (H2505/S1486), is moving its way through the legislature, and while I am hopeful, there is no guarantee Death with Dignity will be an option not if, but when, I’ll need it.
The ability to choose Death with Dignity matters deeply to me because I’ve already seen what happens when this critical and humane end-of-life option doesn’t exist. In April, I lost a close family member. He spent the final days of his life unconscious in a hospital bed, only on an IV for some fluids, mouth agape, twitching from spasms. His breathing was ragged. He was surrounded by noise, strangers, and fluorescent lights. He had no awareness, no comfort, no peace.
That is not how I want to die.
If Massachusetts passes the End of Life Options Act, it would mean I don’t have to die that way.
It would mean I could stay home. That I could continue to live fully—playing with my goats and dog, collecting eggs from my hens, laughing with friends, creating art—until I reach the point where my body can’t continue. And when that moment comes, I would be able to make the final choice, just as I have made so many other meaningful choices in my life: with clarity, with love, and with dignity.Medical aid in dying is not about giving up. It’s about honoring the autonomy, strength, and compassion that have guided me through life. It’s about choosing peace when the time comes. I’m already planning to travel to Vermont when I no longer can continue—because they allow out-of-state residents to access their law. But I shouldn’t have to leave my home to die with dignity. No one should.
Join Me: Donate Today and Support Death with Dignity
If you’ve experienced a loved one’s suffering or faced terminal illness yourself, I hope you’ll join my advocacy by making a donation. Death with Dignity has worked to fight for end-of-life freedom across the U.S. and helped pass legislation in states with Death with Dignity laws. Passing the End of Life Options Act in Massachusetts would give people like me the ability to choose compassion, peace, and autonomy at the end of life.
Donate and help make Death with Dignity a reality not just in Massachusetts but for every dying patient in the U.S. that deserves to have this option at the end of life.
