In September of 2023, doctors found a tumor in my mother’s pancreas. She was 66 and until 2 weeks prior, had been nothing but healthy. The tumor turned out to be inoperable, terminal cancer. They gave her between 3 months and 2 years to live. Longer if she opted for chemo. After receiving a second opinion from Stanford, she decided not to have chemo. She wanted to live her life fully until the symptoms became too much. At that point, she wanted to have a physician assisted death, which is legal in California. She asked my brother and me if this was okay. She hoped we would understand her choice.

I started this blog to capture the moments between her diagnosis and her death. I want to show how my mother is teaching me what it really means to live.