A FRENCH woman badly disfigured by facial tumours caused by a rare and incurable disease has appealed to President Nicolas Sarkozy to allow her to die by euthanasia.

In an interview with the Agence France-Presse news agency, former school teacher Chantal Sebire, 52, begged for the right to end the "atrocious" suffering inflicted on her by the disease which has rendered her face unrecognisable because of growing tumours.

"An animal would not be allowed to endure what I have to endure," she said from her home in Plombieres-les-Dijon in central France, asking French media and Mr Sarkozy to allow her a dignified death.

Euthanasia is illegal in France, unlike in some other European countries such as the Netherlands and Belgium.

Ms Sebire told AFP that she suffered from a very rare disease called esthesioneuroblastoma, which attacks the nasal cavity.

It had left her blind and had robbed her of almost all other senses, leaving her in terrible pain.

"In 2000, I lost my sense of smell and taste, and then the tumour evolved and ate into my jaws, before attacking the eye socket. I lost my sight in October last year," she said.

The disease caused "atrocious bouts of pain that can last up to four hours at a time".

Pleading to be allowed to die serenely, the mother of three said that only 200 cases of the disease had been reported globally in the last 20 years.

:( :( :( :(


links can be found all over the internet

because of the severeness of chantals condition, I refuse to post a picture of her or the link where I found the article. The cancer has caused severe damages to her face and I wish not to make this a topic about her looks, rather about the story itself.
I'm sure that all people using this forum are resourceful enough to look it up themselves if they are ..interested in knowing... but please no slanderous remarks she deserves nothing but respect for having to live like this :(

Jesus, that's awful. Though if she's really that desperate to die, couldn't she just... do it? I mean, I know there's quite a stigma with suicide and all, but if she's really suffering and wants out, she doesn't have to appeal to the president to do it. Just saying.

yeah..but she wants to die with dignity..there's no dignity in dying because of suicide :mellow:

Yeah, I get that - I was just saying if she's really that desperate, she shouldn't have to wait around for the president's approval. I'm sure she could find a Dr. Kevorkian type to help her out.

Hopefully she'll get the approval she's looking for, but if not... there are other ways. It must be so awful for her and the people around her to watch her face eat itself (I definitely won't be tracking down a picture). :\

she was actually on the news here (WITHOUT A WARNING FOR SHOCKING IMAGES!) it def. should've had some warning...

sorry to say, it loosk pretty bad

Small update..the woman has recently been found death in her apparntment with some medicine lying close by...

right after seh was found dead, the files on whether or not to accept eutahnasia as a last resort were reopened

i see more dignity with suicide than euthanasia in her case.

but yeah, i think they should have let her do it, she clearly didn't want her children to see her in that state.