Health · Healthcare & Policy · 2 hrs ago
Brazilian woman with severe facial pain says euthanasia remains her only option
Carolina Arruda has severe trigeminal neuralgia, a condition that causes intense facial pain, and lives in Lavras, Brazil.
Diagnosed in 2013, the 30-year-old now has 20 to 30 attacks a day and says the pain prevents her from working as a veterinarian.
She has undergone more than 100 drug treatments and 11 surgeries, and uses implanted devices to deliver medicine and electrical stimulation, but says they do not relieve the pain.
Arruda raised about R$145,785 online for euthanasia in Switzerland, but spent part of the money on treatments while unemployed.
A drug she hopes might reduce the pain is not commercially registered in Brazil and, she says, costs up to US$50,000 per vial.
Euthanasia at the Swiss organization Dignitas remains her only option on the horizon, but she says required medical assessments have been hard to obtain because doctors will not provide them.
Carolina Arruda, a 30-year-old veterinarian in Lavras, Brazil, says euthanasia in Switzerland remains the only option she can see amid severe, persistent facial pain.
She has trigeminal neuralgia, diagnosed in 2013, and experiences 20 to 30 attacks a day.
More than 100 medication treatments and 11 surgeries have not stopped the pain, and her case has been considered palliative since 2025.
She says a drug that might partly reduce the pain is inaccessible because it is not commercially registered in Brazil and is very expensive.
- Who
- Carolina Arruda, a 30-year-old veterinarian from Lavras, Brazil.
- What
- She says euthanasia at the Swiss institution Dignitas is the only option on her horizon. She lives with severe pain from trigeminal neuralgia.
- When
- She was diagnosed in 2013. She started an online fundraiser in July 2024; the article was published on October 27, 2026.
- Where
- Lavras, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais; she is considering euthanasia at Dignitas in Switzerland.
- Why
- Her trigeminal neuralgia causes persistent, severe pain despite more than 100 medication treatments and 11 surgeries. She says access to a potentially helpful drug is not viable.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Arruda was diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia.
She underwent her first surgery.
She started an online fundraiser to gather money to undergo euthanasia in Switzerland.
Her case was considered palliative.
Folha published its report on her condition and options.
- Age
- 30
- Daily pain attacks
- 20 to 30
- Fundraiser proceeds
- R$145,785.10
- Treatments and surgeries
- More than 100 medication treatments and 11 surgeries
- Potential drug
- Prialt (ziconotide), not commercially registered in Brazil
- Drug cost
- US$30,000 to US$50,000 per vial
1 source
What people are saying
If I could ask for anything today, it would be health. I don't need the pain to go away, just to let me live. I wanted life, not survival.
This is the last alternative we tried, but it doesn't relieve the pain.
It's very bureaucratic. After my case became known, it's even harder because I need various reports from psychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists and pain specialists to justify that my decision was made with a sound mind, rationally.