National Nurses United

CE Home Study Course 24 M A R C H 2 0 0 6 W W W . C A L N U R S E S . O R G C A L I F O R N I A N U R S E SHERRIE CHAPMAN was incarcerated at the California Institution for Women (CIW). She first complained of painful breast lumps in 1991. She also told the prison doctor that there was a family his- tory of breast cancer. In early 1993, she was finally given a mammogram. The ra- diologist noted the presence of "extreme- ly dense breast parenchyma" and recommended a follow-up mammogram be done in one year. No follow-up was done until 1994, at which time the radi- ologist again noted, "dense breast parenchyma could easily obscure a mass mammographically." The prison doctor refused to order any biopsy, ultrasound, or FNA. Instead, he adhered to his diag- nosis of "fibrocystic breast disease." In July 1995, Sherrie was assigned to a dif- ferent prison doctor who immediately or- dered a biopsy which was performed on Aug. 8, 1995. On Aug. 23, 1995, Sherrie's right breast and four cancerous lymph nodes were removed. Sherrie continued to complain about pain and lumps in her left breast and on Jan. 8, 1997, her left breast was removed. In August 2000, after complaining for several months about a painful lump in her neck, Sherrie learned that the lump was metastasized breast cancer. On Dec. 12, 2002, Sherrie passed away, still in custody after being denied parole by the Board of Prison Terms and denied a compassionate release from the California Department of Corrections. GLORIA BROXTON served time at the Central California Women's Facility. In the fall of 1999, she was diagnosed with endometrial adenocarcinoma, a cancer which originates in the inner lining of the uterus. For nearly a year leading up to and including the first several months of Gloria's incarceration, she experienced abnormal vaginal bleeding. She agreed to undergo a radical hysterectomy as a treatment strategy to fight the cancer. When she returned from the outside hos- pital that provides care to Chowchilla prisoners, guards dropped Gloria as they attempted to remove her from the trans- port vehicle. She fell nearly three feet onto the concrete, causing the more than 100 staple-sutures in her abdomen to rip open. Instead of being rushed to the on- site prison infirmary for immediate treat- ment, the supervising RN on duty gave her a shot of Demerol and wheeled Glo- ria back to her housing unit on the main yard. Shortly thereafter, she developed an abscess that went untreated for two and a half months and turned gan- grenous. Additionally, the staples left from her operation, which were sup- posed to be removed 10 days after the surgery, remained in her body for two and a half months. Several of these su- tures began to grow into her skin. Following this procedure, the oncolo- gist overseeing Gloria's care ordered that she immediately begin an eight-month chemotherapy regimen. From August 1999 through at least July 2000, Gloria did not receive one successful chemotherapy dose. During this lapse, the cancer pro- gressed to a more serious stage. The rea- son Gloria did not receive treatment is due in part to the medical staff's failure to prop- erly administer the chemotherapeutic agent. In order to inject the cancer drug combination into Gloria's body, two shunts were inserted just beneath the surface of the skin above her breasts. Chemicals are then injected directly into these devices which help regulate the flow of chemother- apy into the body. On two occasions these devices ruptured because the needle was improperly inserted into the shunts. This caused the highly-toxic chemotherapeu- tic agent to be injected directly into the surrounding fatty tissues above Gloria's breasts. As a result, two large abscesses formed. These were left untreated for months and lead to yet another surgery where doctors were forced to remove a large portion of the fatty area around Glo- ria's chest. In August 2000, Gloria was finally put back on a regular regimen of chemother- apy. However, the cancer had steadily progressed to a more serious stage dur- ing the year-long lapse in treatment and eventually became terminal. After a major legal and political battle, Gloria was granted a compassionate release from CCWF on March 9, 2001 - a victo- ry few terminally-ill prisoners enjoy. EVA VALLARIO served time at CCWF. On Dec. 15, 2001, she died in a holding cell in back of the visiting room after un- dergoing a strip search following her visit. Eva had a history of asthma that appeared to have been poorly managed by prison medical staff. A report by outside investi- gators concluded that Eva apparently died after choking on her vomit, and that "there is a substantial likelihood that she could have been resuscitated if she had STORIES FROM THE INSIDE

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