Cancer survivor celebrates wedding after outliving terminal diagnosis by years

An Australian man with pancreatic cancer, given just a few weeks to live four years ago, is now looking forward to married life with his new wife.

Stephanus, 54, and Esthee, 47, celebrated their wedding on 5 September in Victoria, Australia. Following his initial prognosis in 2022, Stephanus would have been eligible to seek medical help to kill himself under the State’s assisted suicide law.

Last year, he travelled to the UK to petition MPs to vote against Kim Leadbeater MP’s Bill. He warned them of the uncertainty surrounding terminal diagnoses, and how he would have missed out on years of life had he chosen to die.

Fast-tracked death

During the Committee Stage of the Leadbeater Bill, MPs sought to justify the creation of an assisted suicide ‘fast-track’ for people, like Stephanus, who had been deemed to have only a short time to live.

The Bill, as drafted, shortened the minimum reflection period for a patient approved to receive help from a medic to kill themselves, from 14 days to 48 hours in such circumstances.

Long-term proponent of assisted suicide Kit Malthouse MP argued that this is “reflecting the fact that they are going to die”.

Life ahead

Speaking to The Times during his visit to the UK, Stephanus recalled that his “shocking diagnosis” left him “emotionally completely down, going through a rollercoaster. Which means you’re very susceptible to prompts and people’s opinions”.

He warned: “When you’ve had a diagnosis like that, and a doctor comes and suggests to you assisted dying, or a family member suggests it, I think most people would seriously consider it. And that’s wrong, in my opinion, it’s not the right time to think about those things.”

A year following his diagnosis, Stephanus’ first wife died from cancer. He noted that if he had opted for assisted suicide when emotionally vulnerable “my kids would have been orphans”.

In his speech at the wedding, Stephanus told his new bride: “I am looking forward to sharing my life with you. I honestly did not think I will meet someone special again, not to mention marrying her.”