Dying an Assisted Death - Tracy Hickman on Deciding to Die, Cancer Journey & Message for Others
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ส.ค. 2024
- TRACY HICKMAN
Warning! This episode of The Dom Harvey Podcast may be upsetting to some listeners or viewers, it centers around terminal illness and assisted dying. Please listen with caution.
In March 2019 Tracy Hickman, an ultra-marathon runner and accountant, went for a routine mammogram and was hit the devastating news she had an aggressive type of breast cancer.
Tracy and I met at the Boston marathon in 2023 where she was running despite battling cancer. You would not know she was sick unless she told you. Nor would you ever see her without a smile- relentlessly positive would be a perfect way to describe her.
Tracy asked me if we could do this podcast and it was a privilege.
Tracy's story is not just about her battles with cancer or the marathons she's run across seven continents: it's a larger story of relationships, love, and legacy. And also, an opportunity to shine a light on assisted dying-a subject she believes deserves more coverage and open conversation.
I’d like to think this episode is a celebration of Tracy Hickman's undeniable fabulousness. Her wit, warmth, and willingness to discuss topics often shrouded in silence.
At the very least, I hope this makes all of us appreciate what we have and to make the most of today. Because you never know what tomorrow may bring.
This was my beloved sister who I was very proud may she rest in peace and god bless her.❤️.x
What a very brave lady 🙏 sending love to you all ❤
Sending love, it is well
I'm very saddened she chose this immoral path. May God have mercy on her soul.
Jesus I trust in You 🙏 ❤
I'm so very sorry for your loss. I hope you take comfort that your beautiful sister is now at peace, with no more suffering.
Rest in peace Tracy, God bless you xx
It was an honor to listen to her journey. May she rest peacefully and condolences to you and your family.
Tracy is our beloved auntie. Such an inspiration to us all, in sickness as much as in health. Thanks for platforming her to raise awareness for assisted dying in NZ and everywhere. A lovely way to document some highlights from her life for posterity, too 👏🙏
very strong lady,much love to your family
Well said Rob 🥰, we are all so proud of her and the strength she has , could not ask for a better Auntie to look up too ! Even while in so much pain she still trying to help others , a true inspiration xxx
Awww what a lovely aunty you have :)
We are very privileged to have access to an assisted dying service here in New Zealand. 🇳🇿 what a huge loss to this world when it is here time to leave, such a beautiful soul. My love to Tracy, her family and loved ones. ❤
As a nurse I appreciate her appearing on this podcast in order to spread awareness on this subject. It’s such an important conversation and this choice is so valuable as an option for those who are facing a terminal illness. Much love dear x❤
Watching this from Ireland on 22nd May and sending all my love to you and your family, what a wonderful woman ❤
Assisted dying is absolutely abhorrent, immoral and unethical.
Jesus I trust in Thee 🙏
May she RIP
Ive had 9 forms of cancer in my life. From age 2 to now at age 54. I have terminal cancer now, and it is painful. But i think i have suffered forever, but bugger it, im going to go for as long as i can. But we all have choices, and they need to be respected
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What a beautiful person to listen to. My 4 year son passed away due to an inoperable tumour. I'm glad he didn't have to suffer through chemo and he didn't have much pain. If he had lived I would have wanted him to live a full and giving life like you have had. It sounds like you have lived more in your 57 years than most do that live till their 90's. May the sounds of the waves transition you more adventures on the other side. 🌊🌈
I can’t imagine the pain you have been through. Much love to you and although I don’t know you, I will be thinking about you and your beautiful four-year-old.❤
I forgot to thankyou Dom for an amazing podcast about my sister Tracy bless her and may she rest in peace and most of all no more pain.I have learnt more about my sister in your podcast then i have in my 68years of life so thankyou very much.
Sending love to you and all your family. ❤
I feel privileged to have had that hour of listening to her. Her family are so lucky to have had her for all of her and their lives. I hope they can think about that and take comfort because we need many more Tracies in this world. RIP x
We don't have an open assisted dying program here in Australia. If my cancer comes back I would want this option. There is a huge difference between living and existing. And when that existing is tainted with pain and loss of mental capacity then assisted exit is the only humane action. Thank you Tracy and your family. Bless you all.
Incredible bravery. My ex-partner did this in Southern California in his beautiful home…had aggressive cancer which spread quickly a month after diagnosis. Intractable pain. Thank goodness for that option. Much love to all of you watching this. ❤❤❤
I didn’t know Tracy. To be honest I only read of her passing away this morning. What an inspiration. My wife died suddenly aged just 42. Today is our wedding anniversary. I’m on a bereavement site and I see many, many partners and families struggling to deal with incredibly difficult and distressing deaths. As my wife was healthy until the end and there was no trauma and a had a “natural” death the children and I were spared the deep pain that others are left to carry. Tracy made her decisions for her and for her wider family and friends. This evening, off the west of Ireland, I will have a cold swift swim and raise a glass to her amazing spirit. Sleep well Tracy.
Thankyou so much for your kind words and so sorry for your loss and your children. special loved ones who leave far to soon will forever live on in our hearts I lost my wife in November last year after thirty years together and I miss her every single and coming to terms with it is heartbreaking and I live just day to day and now my sister and I think to myself why me then realise it has to be somebody.So best wishes to you and your family.x
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A wonderful wonderful wonderful woman. May your light shine brighter in eternity. Let Almighty God receive your truly beautiful soul. You may not believe in God but you already adhered to the true religion of Goodness.
What an amazing lady and podcast. Thinking of all her friends and family today ❤😢
Such bravery. I wish this was legal in the UK because watching somebody you love deteriorate from terminal cancer is destroying. People who have capacity to make the choice should be able to! It's their life so they should be able to choose how and when they die. We don't watch animals suffering and in constant pain!
What an u
Inspiration Tracy is!
What a brave and beautiful woman. May your soul rest in peace and love ❤️ Thoughts are with Tracy's loved ones
This was such a wonderful chat, Tracey you're a fabulous woman and i admire you so much for being so open about all of this. I wish for you a peaceful ending that you are hoping for ❤ Dom, you handled this chat beautifully. As you said at the end, its something we will all face and it its nice to see such an open chat about it. Love to you both from another Tracey xx
What a very very brave lady 🙏 sending love to all her family and friends RIP Tracy ❤
What a special lady. Rest easy ❤
Thank you, Dom for posting this. Tracy/Jessica has more courage in her little finger than most of us have in our entire body. She is the northern star, guiding us to love and light. 🔥🥰💖
But just FYI, consult an estate planner before doing anything like this because the surviving partner may have a lot more benefits, be in a better situation if you get married quickly before the death. And don’t we all want what’s best for our surviving loved ones? 💖😘🥰
Thank you Dom, for a wonderful podcast, which I’ve just finished watching. Tracy you were an amazing woman 🌻💛
❤❤❤ You are truly a wonderful and beautiful lady. Inspite of your unwellness, you have done a lot. You're tough and inspiring.
My thoughts have been with Tracy & family today. Rest in Peace beautiful lady 😘
Wow❗you are one strong woman Tracey & voicing this out loud is a necessity for everyone to understand that this is legal & it is your right to choose.🙏🏽🫶🏽
You made me realise that I'm not eating that ice cream or chocolate enough!😩
Kia kaha to you & your people 🫶🏽🙏🏽
What a beautiful soul you are Tracy. I wish for as many people to watch this as possible. The guy interviewing you seems like a lovely person too. All my love from South Africa🇿🇦
One of most amazing interviews Dom you have done 💕. Tracey your beautiful way of telling your story was inspiring to go live life x. Sending love to your family and all the best to doing it your way 💗 💛
Tracy, what a human! The most worthwhile 1:16 minutes I have spent in a long time. You leave huge foot prints on hearts and minds. You have already made a huge difference to many people in this life. And now you will have blown the assisted dying choice into great focus. Thank you. Blessings for the 22.05.24. Love to your family and friends.
Wow Tracy, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, your strength never ceases to amaze me. Not only did your strength shine through in this chat, but your smile, your sense of humour, your kindness, your zest for life and your love for others. You will be my beacon as I take on the Comrades Marathon next month and you will be forever in my thoughts. Go well my friend ❤
She’s amazing. Life can be so cruel.
What an inspirational and beautiful account of your fulfilling life journey, depicting your enormous heart, strength, sense of humour, courage, and honesty. Thank you for reminding us to embrace life every day, Tracy❤️
My heart is full. Rest easy and with love.
What an amazing woman! One of the best podcasts i have listened to. So open and honest. Moi mai ra lady on your final journey!
What an amazing lady. I was in tears watching this.
Wow, she is mind-blowing and so so strong and inspirational. Thanks Dom for putting her on your podcast. 🎉🎉🎉
I love Tracy. I look up to her and Paul. I thank my stars and Helen for getting me in touch with them.
Rest in paradise Tracey...what an inspirational woman🙏 ❤
Tracy will send you all my love over the next few days before you soar. Be safe, be strong, such a strong voice for personal choice.
Absolutely incredible Podcast as always Dom. Go well Tracy Hickman ❤️
Tracy ~ so brave & beautiful 💞 Outstanding holding room for Tracy Dom ~ thank you both for sharing & much love for the days ahead ❣️xo
Amazingly beautiful Tracy, inspiring, and what a life you have lived. Beautiful chat.
WIth all due respect, I hope people see what a dangerously fine line this is to walk. Tracy sounded like she had anxiety and that propelled her to take her own life when she admitted that if she wasn't anxious about potentially deteriorating suddenly so that she wouldn't be able to convincingly express consent when the time came for her to die, she would have lived longer. What about people who argue depression is an equally valid reason to choose to die, and display the same anxiety to justify killing themselves- eg. what if this happens later, what if that happens, this loved one is gone and I can't live without them- I can't handle it, I should just die now! We don't applaud that attitude towards death, we should recognise that these are insights into the minds of people who are not thinking rationally and under completely different circumstances, or if the fear is eased for them, they would most likely choose to live, even if the future is uncertain. There's a group called Not Dead Yet of ex-suicidal survivors who campaign against assisted suicide because they came to see that their desire to die was not healthy or normal and given help, they came to see the value in life and how dangerous assisted suicide is.
For some reason my spirit lead me to this video. God bless you
wow,very strong lady,such a powerfull convo dom,you did this so well,much love to Tracy
Tracy, while we have never met from the moment I first saw the post on Instagram I had to come watch your discussion with Dom. I've been at a loss for words because I want to send you so much love. You are such a strong, beautiful soul, and I enjoyed listening to you talk about your journey with running.
I really found the discussion about assisted dying very compelling. I send you so much love beautiful, so much joy and I will celebrate you on the 22nd of May ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
You really are remarkable Tracy and a great advocate for assisted dying. You absolutely will leave a lasting legacy and I'm truly sorry that life has dealt you (& Paul) such a rough hand. Also kudos to you Dom for handling this topic with humour and sensitivity
What a lovely lady,god bless you.x
So glad she has the choice.
God speed Tracy. ❤
What a strong woman
What aa beautiful lady ❤
rest in peace ❤️
Please tell us all the money from all the ads on this podcast went to a breast cancer charity in Tracy’s name
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How many vaccines did she take
oh go away you weirdo
what a scum comment