My Nonprofit Reviews

In 2018 my mother used Medical Aid In Dying (MAID) in California to end her intolerable and uncontrollable pain and suffering from terminal breast cancer that had gone to her bones, liver, and lungs. She was within days of dying the horrible death she knew was coming and desperately wished to avoid. Thanks to MAID, my mother died a peaceful death held by her closest family members.

Compassion & Choices was the key to my mother and our family learning about the existence of the California End of Life Option Act. Her doctors certainly did not offer the information at any time during her long and difficult fight for more time with us.

Compassion & Choices is doing the hard work of advocacy and education around all end of life options in a culture where talking about death itself is taboo. But they don't just advocate and educate about Medical Aid In Dying. They do so much more in terms of educating patients and families about all options when it comes to end of life care planning.

Since my mother's death, I've learned so much more about Compassion & Choices and the people from all walks of life who work tirelessly to advocate for improving end of life care planning, expanding options, and empowering patients to plan according to their own values.

Not only did my family benefit from the vital work Compassion & Choices is doing, but clients in my private practice who are dealing with end of life decision-making gain valuable information when they visit the Compassion & Choices website. Patient education is key to making decisions based on values.

Compassion & Choices is a phenomenal group of dedicated people doing crucial work for all of us in terms of end of life options care planning.