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For the past 29 years, Brittany Maynard has lived a life that one could want to put on their own bucket list. She has ran half marathons, traveled all over the world including Southeast Asia for a year and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.
But on Nov.1, Maynard will appreciate her travels and life journeys as she ends her life by giving herself prescribed medication by her doctor.
You see Maynard launched an online video campaign with the nonprofit Compassion & Choices, that makes people aware of the end-of-life choice advocacy organization. Maynard will end her life, and try to make more people aware of this act to fight for expanding death-with-dignity laws all over the nation.
Maynard, was given only six months to live back in April, and wants to make it clear that she is not committing suicide by ending her life due to her illness.
"There is not a cell in my body that is suicidal or that wants to die," Maynard told PEOPLE. "I want to live. I wish there was a cure for my disease but there's not."
Maynard was diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma, a deadly brain tumor.
"My glioblastoma is going to kill me, and that's out of my control," Maynard says. "I've discussed with many experts how I would die from it, and it's a terrible, terrible way to die. Being able to choose to go with dignity is less terrifying."
In the video below you will see Maynard along with her mother, Debbie Ziegler, and husband, Dan Diaz, 42.
"My entire family has gone through a cycle of devastation," Maynard continues. "I'm an only child – this is going to make tears come to my eyes. For my mother, it's really difficult, and for my husband as well, but they've all supported me because they've stood in hospital rooms and heard what would happen to me."
Maynard had just gotten married when she started having bad headaches last January, and that's when she found out the bad news of brain cancer.
"My husband and I were actively trying for a family, which is heartbreaking for us," Brittany says in the video.
Three months later, Brittany had surgery and found out the tumor had spread giving her only six months to live. Maynard, was living in San Francisco at the time, decided to move to a state where she could undergo the dying with aid action.
Maynard and her whole family moved with her to Portland earlier this year so she could go along with her process of the Oregon's Death with Dignity Act.
The act was started in late 1997. 1,173 people have had prescriptions written under the act, but not all used them to die. Only 752 have went on to die with the aid.
Four other states including, Washington, Montana, Vermont and New Mexico have allowed the aid in dying act. Compassion & Choices has campaigns now in the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey.
In the middle of October, Maynard will videotape testimony that will air for California lawmakers and voters at the right time.
"Right now it's a choice that's only available to some Americans, which is really unethical," Brittany says.
"The amount of sacrifice and change my family had to go through in order to get me to legal access to death with dignity – changing our residency, establishing a team of doctors, having a place to live – was profound," she adds.
"There's tons of Americans who don’t have time or the ability or finances," she continues, "and I don't think that's right or fair."
"I believe this choice is ethical, and what makes it ethical is it is a choice," Brittany says. "The patient can change their mind right up to the last minute. I feel very protected here in Oregon."
As others have changed their mind to go on and take the meds, Maynard believes that she will not change her mind and keep her date of Nov. 1.
"I really wanted to celebrate my husband's birthday, which is October 30," she explained. "I'm getting sicker, dealing with more pain and seizures and difficulties so I just selected it."
"I still get out and take a walk with my family everyday," she revealed. "I try not to hold onto the dogs anymore because the past few weeks I've fallen a few times."
Her pain and exhaustion levels have increased, but Maynard seems to be stable with medications from her doctors.
"I was in the hospital two weeks ago after two seizures," she shared. "Immediately after, I lost my ability to speak for a few hours. So it's scary, very frightening."
Which is why Maynard believes that she has made the right decision to die on Nov. 1.
When she dies, Maynard plans to take the meds in her bedroom that she shares with her husband. Maynard said that her family, including her mother, stepfather, husband and best friend (who is also a physician), will be present.
"I'm dying, but I'm choosing to suffer less," she explained, "to put myself through less physical and emotional pain and my family as well."
To learn more about Brittany's story log on to thebrittanyfund.org.
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