The Last Chapter

Tempra Jones

October 23, 2019

After battling and surviving cervical cancer, breast cancer, and later cancer in her lymph nodes, Tempra Jones decided to leave this world better than she found it. In 2012, she started her charity, Tempi’s Tikes, to pay it forward by raising money to help alleviate the financial burdens of families with children who are fighting cancer. Since then, through her dedication and the generous community that supports her, Tempi’s Tikes has donated tens of thousands of dollars to the Ronald McDonald House.

“This charity has done so much for me by helping others. Being able to change someone else’s life, even if it’s just one person…I feel like I’ve made my mark on this world.”

In October of 2018, Tempra was diagnosed with cancer for a fourth time. As a cancer survivor, Tempra says that the option of Death with Dignity has always been on her mind. With the support of her children and partner, Tempra decided to stop taking the medication that caused her so much pain and to end her last chapter on her own time and her own terms. She plans to attend her daughter’s wedding, celebrate an early Christmas, and leave her loved ones with a positive memory of her to hold onto forever. And she hopes that her story will inspire others to accept help, talk to their loved ones more openly about death, and end the stigma and guilt around Death with Dignity.

“It’s not committing suicide. You’re not giving up on your family. You’re just trying not to be in pain any longer. Cancer takes all of your control—of every aspect of your life. But this, you get control back…I get to decide. And I will not be in any pain, any longer.”