Kevin Roster makes it abundantly clear he doesn’t want his life to end any time soon. But with that decision taken out of his hands in his mid-30s, he wants a say in how it happens.
The semi-professional poker player from New Jersey has a rare form of cancer called sarcoma that required the April amputation of his left hindquarter and leg and the removal of a 20-pound tumor, leaving him in a wheelchair. His prognosis has dwindled from months to weeks to live as the cancer has spread to his heart and lungs.
So in the spirit of Brittany Maynard – the terminally ill newlywed who brought the conversation about medical aid in dying into America’s living rooms in 2014 when she moved to Oregon to seek authorized assistance in ending her life – Roster has shifted his home base to a state where he can legally take similar steps.
Despite his compromised condition, Roster traveled cross-country to California, which, in 2015, became the fifth state to enact a law allowing for medical help in dying. New Jersey recently joined the ranks, but its law doesn’t go into effect until Aug. 1, and Roster doubts he has that much time.
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“I wanted to die the way I lived, which was independently,’’ Roster said. “I haven’t punched a clock since I was 20 years old. I didn’t want to have to be on cancer’s clock. I wanted to be on my own clock. … I always knew I wanted control in the end and that I didn’t want to be dependent. I didn’t want to have to wear diapers or be in a medicated coma, sleeping most of the day.’’
Before taking the lethal prescribed drugs, which he’s in the process of obtaining, Roster and his caretaker drove from the Sacramento area to Las Vegas so he could play in the World Series of Poker, the annual tournament now in its 50th edition.
Originally Posted by Dan Druff
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