A French woman suffering from a rare type of cancer that disfigured most of her face was found dead Wednesday, two days after the court had rejected her request for a medical assisted suicide.

Chantal Sebire, 52, was found at her home in the town of Plombieres-les-Dijon, but the circumstances of her death were not clear.

Sebire was diagnosed eight years ago with esthesioneuroblastoma, a rare and incurable type of cancer. The tumors had developed in their nasal passages and sinuses, causing her face to disfigure terribly and inducing excruciating pain that the woman claimed could not be relieved by any painkillers.

She decided to require for a medical assisted suicide through a lethal dose of barbiturates, but French law forbids that. Only passive euthanasia is allowed, through which doctors may remove feeding and hydration tubes when a person is in coma, or induce coma and then remove the tubes.

Sebire’s lawyer tried to convince the court that it was “barbaric” to induce the woman in a coma and let her die slowly while her three children waited and suffered. But the court turned down the appeal.

Sebire also wrote a letter to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, explaining her situation. But Sarkozy recommended that expert doctors should examine her and decide.

The woman’s case became famous all across France and hundreds of people wrote to her, in order to express their sympathy and support.

A French group called the Association for the Right to Die with Dignity considered that law should be changed in this kind of situations.

“It is not the liberty of a politician or a doctor -- it's the liberty of the person who is suffering, who has a terminal disease,” said Jean-Luc Romero, president of the group. “It's only the decision of the people who have a terminal disease to decide” whether they may die.

But France’s health and justice ministers said the law could not be changed just because one citizen requires that.