Local woman with rare blood cancer fights for 'Death with Dignity'
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — "I'm not giving up, I'm going to fight until the very end." Those words from 45-year-old Hanna Olivas.
Hanna is a wife, a mother and a grandma. She's also battling a rare blood cancer called multiple myeloma since 2017.
Three weeks ago, a doctor told her she only has one year left to live, and she says her condition is worsening.
"Now I have tumors coming up that are cancerous. I’m not responding well to the treatment, and my body is just completely wreaking havoc," Hanna explained.
Hanna says if the time comes, she wants to choose when, where and how she dies. And she's traveling the country advocating for 'death with dignity' laws, so everyone can have the choice.
"I don't want to suffer, and I’m certainly not going to put my family through that," Said Hanna,
A 'death with dignity' bill came close to passing in Nevada earlier this year, but it didn't meet the deadline to pass in the full senate. At least seven other states including California already have the law, and if the time comes, that's where Hanna plans to pass on.
"I don't want to die in a hospital, I don’t want to die in hospice care, I want to be at peace with my husband with my kids, with my family," she explained.
Hanna's husband Jerry Olivas who she calls her "rock" was right by her side as always.
"It's something hard for me to think about because I love her," He said.
And when asked if he understood her decision, he said, “I do. I’ve had loved ones suffer in agonizing pain for a month or two before they passed away, and what the bill's providing is an escape from that."
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Hanna has no plans on slowing down, saying, "I was told to go live my life to the fullest and live hard, so that's what I’m going to do."
And that's what she's doing: living her life, loving her family and still finding time to raise awareness.
From people magazine, The New York Post and the Tamron Hall Show, Hanna’s story has touched hearts all over.
Not only is Hanna fighting for death with dignity she's also fighting for additional research and a cure. She's starting a non-profit and pushing for a blood cancer medical facility in Las Vegas.
She’s even writing a book called “Brave & Beautiful” which is set to hit bookstores in February.
