27 December 2023 , 21:50
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Dame Esther Rantzen's daughter Rebecca Wilcox praised a 'miraculous drug' after she was able to spend another Christmas with her.
The 83-year-old journalist is currently undergoing treatment for stage four lung cancer and is considering ending her life at physician-assisted suicide clinic Dignitas in Switzerland. Assisted suicide is banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.
Dame Esther previously said she wasn't sure whether she would live to celebrate her birthday earlier this year so it was "very unexpected" that she made it to the Christmas period. And now, her daughter Rebecca revealed Dame Esther thought she 'would be dead in spring' but was able to celebrate Christmas with the family.
"She thought she would be dead in spring, but a miraculous drug has meant that we have another Christmas with her, a wonder we couldn’t have imagined possible when she was diagnosed in January. I was determined to make the most of it," Rebecca explained in The Mirror.
Rebecca put in a lot of effort to make sure this Christmas was memorable for everyoneRebecca put in a lot of effort to make sure this Christmas was memorable for everyone. "Mum and Miriam arrived in good humour, though thoroughly exhausted by the journey. I put the kettle on – tea is the healer of all problems in my house – and unloaded their car which was filled with cakes, presents and mince pies," she explained. "Clearly, they had the same thoughts as me on how this Christmas should be.
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"Then we slumped down to watch something faintly seasonal on the telly before I got up again to hang up my children’s stockings, and put out the carrot, whiskey and cookie for Santa before turning in for an early night." However, Rebecca struggled to relax as she was 'too aware every moment was a precious treasure.'
"I found myself stressing about the unstoppable trickle away of our time together," she explained. Rebecca was soon able to live in the moment and enjoy the day's festivities with her mum and family. When she finally 'relaxed', she 'found contentment'.
She said: "I was able to see how wonderful it was, a memory in the making, and one I should enjoy, not try to control." In a recent interview, Dame Esther opened up about the difficult decision to join the controversial clinic. Speaking about it, she said she wanted to spare her family the agony of seeing her suffer a painful death.
Dame Esther said her decision was driven in part by her wish that her family's "last memories of me" are not "painful because if you watch someone you love having a bad death, that memory obliterates all the happy times".