Brittany Maynard, advocate for 'death with dignity,' dies

Brittany Maynard and Dan Diaz on their wedding day. She had been married a little more than a year when she was diagnosed with brain cancer.

(CNN) -- Brittany Maynard, the 29-year-old who said she had terminal brain cancer and would take medication to end her life under Oregon's "Death with Dignity Act," has died, advocacy group Compassion & Choices said in a Facebook post.

"We're sad to announce the passing of a dear and wonderful woman, Brittany Maynard," the post said. "She passed peacefully in her bed surrounded by close family and loved ones."

Maynard's story spread rapidly on social media as a video explaining her choice garnered more than 9 million views on YouTube.

She became a prominent spokeswoman for the "death with dignity" movement, which advocates that terminally ill patients be allowed to receive medication that will let them die on their own terms. She also became a lightning rod for criticism from people who oppose that approach.

"I quickly decided that death with dignity was the best option for me and my family," Maynard wrote in an opinion column for CNNexplaining her choice. "We had to uproot from California to Oregon, because Oregon is one of only five states where death with dignity is authorized."

Maynard: I hope my family is proud of me

Explaining 'Death with Dignity' law

Brittany Maynard: I don't want to die

In a video released last week, Maynard said she hadn't yet decided when she would end her life.

"I still feel good enough, and I still have enough joy, and I still laugh and smile with my family and friends enough that it doesn't seem like the right time right now. But it will come, because I feel myself getting sicker. It's happening each week," Maynard said in the video, which was produced by Compassion & Choices and released to CNN last Wednesday.

Maynard said she had stage IV glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive form of terminal brain cancer.

When she first started speaking out about her decision, Maynard said that in early November she planned to take the medication she'd been prescribed. In her latest video, she said she was waiting to see how her symptoms progress before deciding on a date.

But taking too long to make that choice was one of her greatest fears, Maynard said.

"The worst thing that could happen to me is that I wait too long because I'm trying to seize each day," she says, "but I somehow have my autonomy taken away from me by my disease, because of the nature of my cancer."