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A Los Angeles attorney and single mom who is battling terminal lung cancer that has spread to her brain is launching a campaign for the right to end her own life, in a case that echoes that of Brittany Maynard. Terminal: Christy O'Donnell, 46, is battling lung and brain cancer and now fighting to die with dignity. Christy O'Donnell, a former police officer, says she has exhausted all her medical options in her battle against Stage IV lung adenocarcinoma, which has masticated into a golf ball-sized tumor in her brain. Despite surviving the six months life expectancy she was given upon being diagnosed last June, the 46-year-old has been told her death will be painful, as her lungs continue to fill with fluid that will inevitably drown her. 'I think it's a terrible injustice that I don't have the choice to die in the manner I want to and instead that I'm forced to very likely die in protracted pain and I might even die alone,' O'Donnell told People magazine in a new feature. O'Donnell is now using what time she has left to support a  Death with Dignity law in California, having been inspired by Maynard, the 29-year-old California woman who moved to Oregon to take her own life last year, ending a long battle with brain cancer. O'Donnell says she wants to be able to do the same in the bed of her home in Valencia, with her 20-year-old daughter, Bailey Donorovich, holding her hand. She says her greatest fear is that her daughter will come home one day and find her mother dead. O'Donnell said she went to the doctors last year after waking up one morning and not being able to read properly. A big book worm, she had been reading before going to bed the night before, only to wake and hardly make out the letters of some words. She had her eyes checked, but the results came back fine. O'Donnell then called her physician and explain what happened, and the doctor told her to immediately go to the emergency room. Legacy: Brittany Maynard, 29, moved from California to Oregon - one of five U.S. states where terminally ill patients are legally allowed to kill themselves - to take her own life in November. An MRI and some other tests confirmed her shocking diagnosis. 'Bailey grabbed my hand and I just started crying and said, ''I'm so sorry'',' O'Donnell told People. 'What I was really saying was, ''I'm so sorry I'm going to die and leave you without a mom''.' O'Donnell underwent chemotherapy and has taken part in numerous clinical trials. However her prognosis has not changed. 'There is not anything medically we have not explored,' O'Donnell said. 'So it is not like I haven't exhausted all my options. My opinion is an informed one.' Doctors say the tumor in O'Donnell's lungs causes fluid to build up. She will soon have to undergo a painful procedure to empty the fluid, however it will fill up again almost immediately. 'There's a good likelihood (my daughter) will come home from work, come home from school, and find me dead,' an overwhelmed O'Donnell told People TV. In memoriam: Three California lawmakers are promoting right-to-die legislation with the family of Brittany Maynard (pictured with husband Dan Diaz), a terminally ill woman who ended her life early under Oregon law on November 1. Love: Brittany Maynard and Dan Diaz married at the Beltane Ranch in California's wine country on September 29, 2012. O'Donnell is now hoping to fight not just to stay alive until Brittany's 21st birthday in June, but for the law to allow her to die the way she wants. 'In the short amount of time I have left, I want to spend it with my daughter - she and I are doing this together - and I want to speak out in whatever way possible to start that dialogue with the public, with the legislature and the courts, and try and impact change,' O'Donnell said. O'Donnell's case is incredible similar to that of Maynard. Her family - lead by mother Debbie Ziegler - are now trying to pass a bill that would allow terminally ill patients to kill themselves in California with drugs and dosages recommended by a doctor. The practice is legal in five states, including Oregon, where Maynard moved before her suicide on November 1. Hoping for change: Debbie Ziegler, the mother of Brittany Maynard, speaks in support of proposed legislation allowing doctors to prescribe life ending medication on Wednesday January 21, 2015, in Sacramento. The 29-year-old San Francisco Bay Area woman had made her case public with online videos, saying in clips that were viewed tens of millions of times that she should have been able to legally obtain life-ending drugs in California. 'Most Californians would not be able to do what we did,' Ziegler said. 'They couldn't leave their homes; they couldn't leave their jobs; they couldn't leave their families, their friends, their pets. 'We had to do all of that. It added another layer of pain.' Maynard wrote in her final Facebook post: "Goodbye to all my dear friends and family that I love. Today is the day I have chosen to pass away with dignity in the face of my terminal illness, this terrible brain cancer that has taken so much from me ... but would have taken so much more.
Christy O'Donnell, 46, diagnosed with Stage IV lung adenocarcinoma in June and given six months to live.
She has undergone chemotherapy and exhausted other medical options.
Eventually she will drown in her own lung fluid, doctors say.
O'Donnell wants to end her life at home in Valencia, California.
Inspire by Brittany Maynard, she has joined the campaign to pass a right-to-die bill in the state.
Maynard moved to Oregon in order to take her own life in November.
Skriv höjdpunkter för den här artikeln: En advokat i Los Angeles och ensamstående mamma som kämpar mot terminal lungcancer som har spridit sig till hennes hjärna inleder en kampanj för rätten att avsluta sitt eget liv, i ett fall som liknar det som Bretagne Maynard har. Terminal: Christy O'Donnell, 46, kämpar mot lung- och hjärncancer och kämpar nu för att dö med värdighet. Christy O'Donnell, en före detta polis, säger att hon har uttömt alla sina medicinska alternativ i sin kamp mot steg IV lungadenocarcinom, som har mastixat till en golfbollsstor tumör i hjärnan. Trots att hon överlevde den förväntade livslängden på sex månader som hon fick när hon fick diagnosen i juni förra året, har 46-åringen fått veta att hennes död kommer att bli smärtsam, eftersom hennes lungor fortsätter att fyllas med vätska som oundvikligen kommer att dränka henne. "Jag tycker det är en fruktansvärd orättvisa att jag inte har valet att dö på det sätt jag vill och istället att jag är tvungen att mycket sannolikt dö i utdragen smärta och jag kan till och med dö ensam," O'Donnell berättade för People magazine i ett nytt inslag. O'Donnell använder nu den tid hon har kvar för att stödja en Death with Dignity-lag i Kalifornien, efter att ha inspirerats av Maynard, den 29-åriga Kalifornien-kvinnan som flyttade till Oregon för att ta sitt eget liv förra året, vilket avslutar en lång kamp med hjärncancer. O'Donnell säger att hon vill kunna göra detsamma i sängen i sitt hem i Valencia, med sin 20-åriga dotter, Bailey Donorovich, i handen. Hon säger att hennes största rädsla är att hennes dotter en dag ska komma hem och hitta sin mor död. O'Donnell sa att hon gick till läkarna förra året efter att ha vaknat en morgon och inte kunna läsa ordentligt. En stor bokmask, hade hon läst innan hon gick och lade sig kvällen innan, bara för att vakna och knappt skönja bokstäverna i några ord. Hon lät kolla ögonen, men resultatet blev bra. O'Donnell ringde då upp sin läkare och förklarade vad som hänt, och läkaren sade åt henne att genast gå till akuten. Legacy: Bretagne Maynard, 29, flyttade från Kalifornien till Oregon - en av fem amerikanska delstater där dödssjuka patienter lagligen får ta livet av sig - för att ta sitt eget liv i november. En MRT och några andra tester bekräftade hennes chockerande diagnos. 'Bailey grep tag i min hand och jag började bara gråta och sade: ''Jag är så ledsen'',' sade O'Donnell till Folk. 'Vad jag egentligen sade var, ''jag är så ledsen att jag kommer att dö och lämna dig utan en mamma''. O'Donnell genomgick kemoterapi och har deltagit i ett flertal kliniska prövningar. Men hennes prognos har inte förändrats. "Det finns inget medicinskt vi inte har utforskat," O'Donnell sade. Så jag har inte uttömt alla mina möjligheter. Min åsikt är välgrundad." Läkarna säger att tumören i O'Donnells lungor orsakar vätskeansamling. Hon kommer snart att behöva genomgå en smärtsam procedur för att tömma vätskan, men det kommer att fylla igen nästan omedelbart. "Det finns en god sannolikhet (min dotter) kommer hem från jobbet, kommer hem från skolan, och hitta mig död," en överväldigad O'Donnell berättade Människor TV. In memoriam: Tre Kalifornien lagstiftare främjar rätt-till-die lagstiftning med familjen av Bretagne Maynard (bilden med maken Dan Diaz), en dödligt sjuk kvinna som avslutade sitt liv tidigt enligt Oregon lag den 1 november. Kärlek: Bretagne Maynard och Dan Diaz gifte sig på Beltane Ranch i Kaliforniens vinland den 29 september 2012. O'Donnell hoppas nu kunna kämpa inte bara för att hålla sig vid liv till Bretagnes 21-årsdag i juni, utan för att lagen ska låta henne dö som hon vill. "På den korta tid jag har kvar vill jag tillbringa den med min dotter - hon och jag gör det här tillsammans - och jag vill tala ut på alla möjliga sätt för att inleda den dialogen med allmänheten, med lagstiftaren och domstolarna, och försöka påverka," sade O'Donnell. O'Donnells fall är otroligt likt Maynards. Hennes familj - som leds av mamma Debbie Ziegler - försöker nu att klara av en räkning som skulle göra det möjligt för dödssjuka patienter att ta livet av sig i Kalifornien med läkemedel och doser som rekommenderas av en läkare. Bruket är lagligt i fem delstater, däribland Oregon, dit Maynard flyttade före sitt självmord den 1 november. Hoppas på förändring: Debbie Ziegler, mamma till Bretagne Maynard, talar till stöd för den föreslagna lagstiftningen som gör det möjligt för läkare att skriva ut livsavslutsmedicin onsdagen den 21 januari 2015, i Sacramento. Den 29-åriga San Francisco Bay Area kvinnan hade gjort sitt fall offentligt med online-videor, säger i klipp som sågs tiotals miljoner gånger att hon borde ha kunnat lagligt få livstidsavslut droger i Kalifornien. 'De flesta kalifornier skulle inte kunna göra det vi gjorde', sade Ziegler. 'De kunde inte lämna sina hem, de kunde inte lämna sina jobb, de kunde inte lämna sina familjer, sina vänner, sina husdjur. Vi var tvungna att göra allt det där. Den lade till ytterligare ett lager smärta.' Maynard skrev i sitt sista Facebookinlägg: "Farväl till alla mina kära vänner och familj som jag älskar. Idag är den dag jag har valt att gå bort med värdighet inför min obotliga sjukdom, denna fruktansvärda hjärncancer som har tagit så mycket från mig ... men skulle ha tagit så mycket mer.
Write highlights for this article: A Los Angeles lawyer and single mother fighting terminal lung cancer that has spread to her brain is launching a campaign for the right to end her own life, in a case similar to that of Brittany Maynard. Terminal: Christy O'Donnell, 46, fights lung and brain cancer and now struggles to die with dignity. Christy O'Donnell, a former police officer, says she has exhausted all her medical options in her fight against Stage IV pulmonary adenocarcinoma, which has mastixed to a golf ball-sized tumor in the brain. Although she survived the life expectancy of six months that she was diagnosed last June, the 46-year-old has learned that her death will be painful, as her lungs continue to be filled with fluid that will inevitably drown her. "I think it's a terrible injustice that I don't have the choice to die the way I want and instead that I'm forced to very likely die in prolonged pain and I can even die alone," O'Donnell told People magazine in a new feature. O'Donnell now uses the time she has left to support a Death with Dignity team in California, having been inspired by Maynard, the 29-year-old California woman who moved to Oregon to take her own life last year, ending a long battle with brain cancer. O'Donnell says she wants to be able to do the same in bed in her Valencia home, with her 20-year-old daughter, Bailey Donorovich, in her hand. She says her greatest fear is that her daughter will one day come home and find her mother dead. O'Donnell said she went to the doctors last year after waking up one morning and not being able to read properly. A large bookworm, she had read before going to bed the night before, only to wake up and barely discern the letters of any words. She had her eyes checked, but the results were good. O'Donnell then called her doctor and explained what had happened, and the doctor told her to go to the emergency room immediately. Legacy: Brittany Maynard, 29, moved from California to Oregon - one of five U.S. states where terminally ill patients are legally allowed to kill themselves - to take their own life in November. An MRI and some other tests confirmed her shocking diagnosis. 'Bailey grabbed my hand and I just started crying and said, 'I'm so sorry',' said O'Donnell to People. 'What I really said was, 'I'm so sorry I'm going to die and leave you without a mother'. O'Donnell underwent chemotherapy and has participated in several clinical trials. But her prognosis hasn't changed. "There's nothing medical we haven't explored," O'Donnell said. So I haven't exhausted all my possibilities. My opinion is well founded." Doctors say the tumor in O'Donnell's lungs causes fluid build-up. She will soon have to undergo a painful procedure to empty the liquid, but it will fill up almost immediately. "There's a good probability (my daughter) comes home from work, comes home from school, and finds me dead," an overwhelmed O'Donnell told People TV. In memoriam: Three California lawmakers promote right-to-die legislation with the family of Brittany Maynard (the image of her husband Dan Diaz), a fatally ill woman who ended her life early under Oregon law on November 1. Love: Brittany Maynard and Dan Diaz married at Beltane Ranch in California's wine country on September 29, 2012. O'Donnell now hopes to fight not only to stay alive until Brittany's 21st birthday in June, but to allow the law to let her die as she pleases. "In the short time I have left, I want to spend it with my daughter - she and I are doing this together - and I want to speak out in every possible way to initiate that dialogue with the public, with the legislator and the courts, and try to influence," said O'Donnell. O'Donnell's case is incredibly similar to Maynard's. Her family - led by Mom Debbie Ziegler - are now trying to cope with a bill that would allow terminally ill patients to kill themselves in California with drugs and doses recommended by a doctor. The practice is legal in five states, including Oregon, where Maynard moved before his suicide on November 1. Hope for change: Debbie Ziegler, mother of Brittany Maynard, speaks in support of the proposed legislation that allows doctors to prescribe life-ending medicine on Wednesday 21 January 2015, in Sacramento. The 29-year-old San Francisco Bay Area woman had made her case public with online videos, saying in clips seen tens of millions of times that she should have been able to legally get lifetime-ending drugs in California. 'Most Californians wouldn't be able to do what we did,' said Ziegler. 'They couldn't leave their homes, they couldn't leave their jobs, they couldn't leave their families, their friends, their pets. We had to do all that. It added another layer of pain.' Maynard wrote in his final Facebook post: "Farewell to all my dear friends and family that I love. Today is the day I have chosen to go away with dignity in the face of my incurable disease, this terrible brain cancer that has taken so much from me...but would have taken so much more.
Christy O'Donnell, 46, diagnostiserad med steg IV lungadenocarcinom i juni och gavs sex månader att leva. Hon har genomgått kemoterapi och uttömt andra medicinska alternativ. Till slut kommer hon att drunkna i sin egen lungvätska, säger läkarna. O'Donnell vill avsluta sitt liv hemma i Valencia, Kalifornien. Inspire av Brittany Maynard, hon har gått med i kampanjen för att passera en höger-till-die lagförslag i staten. Maynard flyttade till Oregon för att ta sitt eget liv i november.
Christy O'Donnell, 46, diagnosed with Stage IV pulmonary adenocarcinoma in June and given six months to live. She has undergone chemotherapy and exhausted other medical options. Finally, she will drown in her own lung fluid, the doctors say. O'Donnell wants to end his life at home in Valencia, California. Inspire of Brittany Maynard, she has joined the campaign to pass a right-to-die bill in the state. Maynard moved to Oregon to take his own life in November.