TV legend Dame Esther Rantzen considering assisted dying if cancer treatment doesn't work

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Dame Esther Rantzen says if her lung cancer does not improve with treatment, she is considering the option of assisted dying.The broadcaster and Childline founder said she does not want her family to watch her have a 'painful and bad' death from the disease.In May, Dame Esther revealed that her cancer had progressed to stage four and she is now waiting on the results from her latest scan.The 83-year-old has also joined Swiss organisations Dignitas.In an interview with BBC’s The Today Podcast, she called for a free vote on assisted dying as she feels it is “important that the law catches up with what the country wants”.Speaking to Nick Robinson and Amol Rajan, she said her next scan in a few weeks’ time will tell her “whether the miracle drug is performing its miracle or whether it’s given up”.She added: “I have joined Dignitas.

I have in my brain thought, well, if the next scan says nothing’s working I might buzz off to Zurich – but it puts my family and friends in a difficult position because they would want to go with me. Join the Daily Record's WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. “And that means that the police might prosecute them.

So we’ve got to do something. At the moment, it’s not really working, is it?”Assisted suicide is banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.There is no specific crime of assisting a suicide in Scotland, but it is possible that helping a person to die could lead to prosecution for murder, culpable homicide or reckless endangerment.The Health and Social Care Committee is due to publish its report into assisted dying and assisted suicide in England and Wales, having launched an inquiry in