Canadian woman getting assisted death because she can’t get surgery

A Canadian woman suffering from parathyroid disease has revealed that she is considering assisted suicide because she cannot get the surgery she needs.

Jolene Van Alstine, from Saskatchewan, suffers from a rare form of parathyroid disease, which results in extreme bone pain, nausea and vomiting. She requires surgery to remove a remaining parathyroid, but no surgeons in Saskatchewan are able to perform the operation.

In order to be referred to another province for the operation, Van Alstine must first be seen by an endocrinologist, yet no Saskatchewan endocrinologists are currently accepting new patients.

Van Alstine commented that the pain has become so unbearable that she has applied and been approved for Canada’s euthanasia and assisted suicide programme, with the ending of her life scheduled to take place on 7 January 2026. Van Alstine said, “My friends have stopped visiting me. I’m isolated. I’ve been alone lying on the couch for eight years, sick and curled up in a ball, pushing for the day to end”. ---More...

Regina woman waits for surgery as waitlists grow across the countryTens of thousands of people are still in limbo as they wait for surgeries in Saskatchewan, including Jolene Van Alstine

WATCH: Tens of thousands of people are still in limbo as they wait for surgeries in the province including Jolene Van Alstine. For the last six years, she's been living with daily bouts of excruciating pain. Moosa Imran has the story.

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