“We need to talk about death every day,” says Andreas Kisser, who created an association for euthanasia in Brazil after the woman’s death.

From there, we began treatment, which involved two surgeries and chemotherapy. At first it was quite a positive process, because she had a lot of strength to fight. He didn’t end up losing all his hair, he saw the situation in a very positive way, despite its seriousness. In September he underwent his last chemotherapy. The tumor disappeared, we were very happy.

I am part of the group “Os Pitais”, which plays music and organizes parties in squats, hospitals, nurseries and retirement homes, where many people are abandoned or experience health and psychological difficulties. With the cancer gone, Patrícia asked for a party to celebrate. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time because the cancer came back with a vengeance. And it was a much more difficult process, because his self-esteem had diminished.

The last six months of life were very difficult. It was from that moment, especially in the last few days, that I realized that as a Brazilian citizen I was very unprepared to deal with a situation like this. On the possibilities to be discussed that have not been put on the table, such as euthanasia, bringing him to Switzerland to exercise his right to choose, as Antônio Cícero did.

I didn’t know there was one palliative care movementwhich are specific end-of-life hospitals, focused on dignity. For example, I discovered that only 4 to 5% of hospitals in Brazil have a palliative care team. And I, with all the financial conditions, health insurance, education, I knew nothing because we don’t talk about it. We don’t talk about death because of fear, because of prejudice.

I didn’t know that I could say “no” to a doctor, for example by refusing treatment. There are so many details that happened in just one week. Patrícia in bed, pressing the morphine machine, and me asking the team why they don’t talk about euthanasia, they don’t talk about death. Why do most hospitals not have palliative care, which is not just about morphine, but about caring for the people next door, psychologists, physiotherapists, doctors, everything to provide comfort at the end of life.

We must throw this gigantic elephant that is death on the table of Brazilian society. Patrícia spoke about the end of life in a very light way. Since we met, she joked: “When I die, I won’t forget my pajamas, my socks, my blanket and my pillow because I don’t want to be uncomfortable or cold in the coffin.” She said that to everyone, we all laughed. And when she died, everyone knew what she wanted.

Then I realized that we had to talk about death every day. From birth, in childhood, in adolescence, the stages of life follow one another and death can occur at any time. Talk about death without prejudice, without taboo, because it is not a punishment. How can you be afraid of something that is inevitable? And we can better prepare ourselves for this painful moment.

This is why I created the Mãetrícia movement, to encourage society to talk about this problem. It’s an Instagram page where we have information, partnerships with the people from Infinitus, Morte sem Tabu, who all address palliative care and the theme of assisted dying. And when Patrícia died, I spoke to the people of “Os Pitais”: “let’s do this party that we couldn’t do with her when she was alive”. And then PatFest was born, from the desire to celebrate the life and death of Patrícia, who still teaches me so much today.

More recently, I also participated in the founding of the Eu Decido association. There, we requested the creation of a specific law to have the right to choose assisted dying in the country. That a Brazilian does not need to leave the country to exercise this right to freedom of choice, as Antônio Cícero did. My job is to raise awareness, to use my influence as a musician to talk about the subject.

Cicero’s letter was a gift to Brazilian society. A courage, a love, an empathy with others to express the situation in a real and truthful way. But the majority of Brazilians who need or want to resort to euthanasia do not have the financial means to travel to Switzerland.

We can improve a lot. We are seeing progress in other countries, like Uruguay, which has now approved, Portugal, Colombia, Peru. Here in Brazil, we don’t even talk about it. We need to find the best way to present this possibility. And we are not talking about an obligation for the person to be “against” or “for”, but rather a personal choice of each person, hence the name “I decide”. People must have the autonomy to think about their own death, to choose what they want for themselves.

You can have your religious beliefs, your political beliefs, you will be respected for that. And I want to be respected for my desire to make this possibility available here in Brazil for everyone who sees this as an alternative. This is our fight.

We were very surprised by the number of members of “Eu Decido”, it was much higher in a few months than we expected. We realize that many people want this option. In Uruguay, this right took 20 years to materialize, in Portugal, 30 years. And it might take 30 or 50 years to get there here, but at some point we’re going to have to start this fight.

We are losing space compared to the rest of the world, but I am very happy that we are waking up to this issue. Obviously, we know that Brazil is an extremely conservative country. But we just want to not have to accept not having a choice because my neighbor thinks I shouldn’t do it because of his beliefs. This is undoubtedly a controversial subject. But everyone will die one day, whether right or left, man or woman, São Paulo or Corinthian.

In Brazil, it is very difficult to talk about a controversial subject, abortion, the legalization of drugs, euthanasia. But it’s a subject that affects everyone. And there are many people doing a fantastic job of putting this issue on the agenda. There are many opportunities for us to grow as a country and face this situation with more preparation.

In the end, it’s all about information. I want people to be able to research it, ask at hospitals and talk to their own trusted doctor about their options in the face of serious illness. Understand what exists, what is happening outside of Brazil and look for what is best for you.

Death is not an enemy, it is not a factor to be defeated at all costs. Death is a teacher. The more we respect it, the more we will live the present, the intensity of everyday life, friendly and family relationships and we will not put things off until tomorrow.