The day that Dick Farris chose to die was remarkably ordinary in some ways. His wife Gloria and her daughter went to the pharmacy to pick up their doctor's prescription for Dick's barbiturates.

They stopped off at the local bakery. Her husband had 'asked us to pick up doughnuts so that everyone could have one' Mrs Farris recalled.

At 76, Dick Farris, a retired US photographer, was dying from pancreatic cancer. He had watched his father and brother die from the disease, and knew what was in store for him.

So he took advantage of the Oregon Death with Dignity Act to end his own life with the help of doctors.

After saying goodbye to his family, Farris started to drink a liquid made of barbiturates which sends people into a coma before it kills them.

His wife still remembers the last moments of her husband's life two years ago as though they were yesterday. 'I said to him, "I'll see you in the morning," and he said, "OK" , and then he went to sleep.'

Gloria Farris, from Portland, had no qualms then, and has no regrets now about the manner of her husband's departure. 'He had a lot of help in those last few weeks from the hospice people, who were really helpful and kind,' she said.

'But he knew what was coming and he didn't want to go through that. I found it hard, and I felt left behind - one minute you are talking to your husband... the next, he has gone. But it was very much what he wanted.

'If I found myself in that situation, I now think that I would do the same.

'Some people go as far as getting a prescription but then just keep it in a drawer. They feel comforted by the thought of it just being there in case they need it.'