The only sign something's not quite right, Armstrong says, is the way it affects his mental state. He says he lives "under a cloud of depression" that is triggered unexpectedly.

"The physical stuff is one thing, but the main way it affects you every day is the sadness. I let myself grieve every few weeks, then I just dust myself off and get on with it," he said.

"The thing is with this that it could be the next test I have [when my medication will be ineffectual], or the one after, or the one three months later where it's going to have overtaken the medication and we need to be looking at other options."

It's then, when his quality of life begins to deteriorate, that he wants to be given the opportunity to die how he wants.

Armstrong says he wants to go out on horseback, surrounded by his wife and family.

Based on recent polling, he's confident that choosing how he wants to die is an opportunity he'll get.

"I'm not afraid of death, because I know when my life is finished it'll be according to my set of rules," he said.

"I'll be able to say, 'Hey, I don't feel curling up in a ball in palliative care in some shitty hospital somewhere amping up the morphine until I slowly drift into unconsciousness'."

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Euthanasia referendum: The Kiwi who will choose to die if the End of Life Choice Bill passes - Newshub