My name is Eva Malvich, I have stage 4 medullary thyroid cancer and I’m on palliative care. I’m interested in supporting the effort to have medical aid in dying authorized in Alaska. I’m vocal about my condition and my wish to die at home with dignity, just as my own mother (Eula David, pictured above) did at her home in Bethel. I took care of her in her home in her own bed as she directed.  My compassion for others to die in their own way, as they want, started then.

I learned so much about options for terminal patients that do not reside on the road system. We did not have help with hospice in remote Bethel as it didn’t exist in 2021 and is still non-existent. I used a turkey baster to clean out her mouth during the death rattle. I administered morphine to her as needed, and my sisters and I bathed her, fed her, and cared for her exclusively the last 3 weeks of her life. It was a beautiful death. I want the same option, but my cancer is different.

I get my care at Alaska Native Medical Center, an Indian Health Service facility. If medical aid in dying becomes authorized in Alaska, I hope that my health care providers will honor and support my wish to access MAiD to die as I want. I want choices. I’m considering traveling to Oregon, because they allow out-of-state residents to participate. It’s shameful I can’t get that option at home. I’m tired of radiation treatment, ugly cancer meds with awful side effects, and my worn out body. I’m on "Do Not Resuscitate" and orders for ambulance crews to not resuscitate me. That’s all the options available to me.

I have always wanted to be in control of my own life, my own body, and the people I have around me. This is important to me. I’m glad End-of-Life Options Alaska is working to make MAiD an option available to Alaskans.

Learn more about Eva’s mother, Eula David (pictured above).