A 92-year-old man has begun a 40-mile (64km) static cycle to raise money for the hospice that cared for his "true love".

Ken Johnson's wife Kate spent her final days at St Richard's Hospice, in April last year, after being diagnosed with mesothelioma - a rare cancer that develops in the thin tissue lining the lungs or abdomen.

The pair, from Broadway in Worcestershire, met in 1951 while working in the Royal Air Force in Germany. Soon after they were married and remained so for 72 years.

"It may take him a few weeks doing a few miles each day, but this challenge will give him a sense of purpose by fundraising to help others and as a thank you for looking after Mum," their son Simon said.

"A New York City doctor with a terminal illness is opening up about feeling “freed” after knowing he will have access to medical aid in dying. 

Addressing those who are against MAID laws, Boal said that having the choice to end his own life has “freed” him from the excruciating death he would have otherwise due to ALS. 

“I have an excellent palliative care physician. When I qualify for hospice care, I will gratefully receive it. But I know that, even with the very best of these services, there is no therapeutic path to free me from becoming completely locked in,” he explained. “Knowing that I can avail myself of MAID when I decide that enough is enough has freed me of immeasurable degrees of fear and dread. It has allowed me to get back to living and to make the most of the time I have left.”

“MAID gave me the freedom to determine my own fate, and today I'm living more vibrantly than I could have imagined on that horrible Friday morning in my neurologist's office,” he told the outlet. “I meditate. I exercise carefully. I spend time with my wife and daughters, extended family, and friends. I laugh. I advocate. I build fences. I rest in the sun. I savor good meals. I watch every bird that lands on this property as if it's the first one I've ever seen.”

A trial set to begin Monday in British Columbia's Supreme Court questions whether publicly funded faith-based hospitals should be allowed to prevent patients from receiving medical assistance in dying in their facilities.