Prison journalism: She was in constant pain. They told her it was normal.Before she could fight cancer, Grandma had to fight for her diagnosis.
by Prison Journalism Project
18-08-2023 17:29
in Prison Journalism
Women incarcerated Image: The Conversation.
Prison Journalism Project trains incarcerated writers to become journalists and publishes their stories. Subscribe to Inside Story to receive exclusive behind-the-scene looks at our best stories, as well as author profiles and other insights.
--
No! You were not sentenced to death, I said in an attempt to console a fellow incarcerated woman crying hysterically inside a bathroom at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women.
As a detail worker in the south hall housing unit, it was my job to clean the bathroom. I often wound up chatting with the women living there as I cleaned.
It's all my fault, Cresh, she said, looking up at me through tear-filled, hazel eyes.
--
I thought I had a full hysterectomy years ago; now I found out I had a partial hysterectomy. I still have ovaries. I didn't even know, she blurted out and began to sob even harder.
Loretta Burroughs is better known to us in Edna Mahan as Grandma. Grandma got her nickname not just because of her age, but also for the love and hugs she bestows upon other incarcerated people here. We cherish her.
That day in the bathroom, Grandma had just been diagnosed with stage 4 cervical cancer, and she was devastated. In the years we both have been incarcerated, we have watched our friends and families - inside and out - die from cancer. I've lost my sister and aunt. Grandma lost her mother. I've watched three women in the wing of the south hall, where I am housed, die from it too.
--
GRANDMA'S DIAGNOSIS Grandma's type of cancer was adenocarcinoma, which is commonly caused by smoking and exposure to toxins. Grandma had never been a smoker. We can't know for sure the cause of her cancer, but other prisons on toxic sites have been linked to a rash of illnesses. A 2014 investigation at State Correctional Institution Fayette, which was built on top of a coal mine in western Pennsylvania, found incarcerated individuals there had alarming rates of health problems, including cancer.
I was scared for Grandma. I was also angry. The harder Grandma sobbed, the angrier I became. But years of anger management classes have taught me that anger is a healthy emotion; it is what we do with the anger that matters.
I was angry at Grandma's diagnosis. I was angry at cancer and the sneaky intrusiveness of this ugly disease that continues to claim the lives of the bodies it violates. I was angry at the design of this facility and others that were built on contaminated sites that can cause cancer.
According to data gathered by a journalist for Grist in 2015, over half of New Jersey's prisons are located on toxic sites. Edna Mahan is one of them, and it's within half a mile of another toxic site.
THE SYSTEM WILL FAIL US I have been at this facility since 2000. Not long after, I started noticing issues with the water system. Sometimes the water is green, and sometimes it has a muddy tint and a rotten smell. The majority of women I have talked to have noticed dark spots appear on their backs, which we think is from showering in contaminated water.
Shortly after the Grist article was published, I saw a lot of corrections officers carrying gallons of bottled water around - I realised they were avoiding the water in here. The incarcerated women have started buying bottled water from the commissary now too, but we can't buy enough to avoid the water entirely. We still have to shower, cook and brush our teeth with it.
ALSO READ: Prison journalism: My first hours after prison
I was angry, too, at the medical department for what I perceived to be their negligence.
Early detection is so important in treating cancer, but it's hard in prison when we have little control over our medical choices and have to advocate hard for our health.
Incarcerated men and women deserve the same odds to beat cancer as people on the outside, but a 2022 Yale University study showed that incarceration is linked with a higher mortality rate from cancer, even a year after being released.
The first time I saw Grandma in the bathroom in excruciating pain, I asked her what was wrong. She told me about the heavy bleeding and severe stomach pain she'd had on and off. She said she had seen the facility doctor, but wasn't given a Pap smear and was told her symptoms were nothing abnormal. Grandma says she went to the medical clinic half a dozen times with the same symptoms for over a year; every time she was told nothing was wrong and was prescribed ibuprofen.
REINFORCEMENT NEEDED Finally tired of being dismissed and plagued with the constant feeling that something was not right, Grandma called home in May 2022. She asked her family to call the facility regarding her medical treatment. Just a few hours after the call, Grandma was called for a medical examination and given a Pap smear. The Pap smear displayed a polyp, which looked suspicious and was removed for testing. The nurse told Grandma she would have the results in two to three days.
The wait for the results was agonising for Grandma and the rest of us who deeply care for her. More than two weeks later, she still had received no results. So again, Grandma called her family for help.
ALSO READ: Prison journalism: My Existence
Immediately after that call, Grandma was finally summoned to the medical department. She later told me the doctor read her results from the computer screen, saying, You have stage 4 cervical cancer. I'm so sorry I didn't catch this earlier.
A few weeks later, Grandma was transported to a university hospital for the first of many trips for testing and trea
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
22/07/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Proven managed IP solution helps broadcasters confidently navigate the future of broadcast distribution
LTN announces it has completed successful satellite-to-...
22/07/2026
Today, Chaos announced V-Ray 7, update 4, eliminating the need for asset conversions and tool switching, which slow down media and entertainment pipelines. Arti...
22/07/2026
An AI playground for the Project Indigo camera app
Marc Levoy July 22, 2026
0 Comments
At left is the user interface of our Playground, running on an ...
22/07/2026
Custom Consoles announces the completion of a large technical furniture project for Radio T l vision Suisse (RTS) at the networks recently inaugurated productio...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Culver City, CA, July 21, 2026 3D streaming infrastructure provider Miris today announced glTF intake, including the binary .glb form, to its spatial streamin...
22/07/2026
Documentary Lo Invisible Captured with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K
Brie Clayton July 21, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's versatile design allowed filmmakers to c...
22/07/2026
AAF Bridge converts AAF and XML Timelines to Ableton Live - and back
Jerome Gardier July 21, 2026
0 Comments
A two-way converter for macOS and Windows...
22/07/2026
From Class to Concert: Explore a Student-Led Production of David Bowies Work Thr...
22/07/2026
Audio at Parity: Comscore Launches Transcript-Level Targeting and Measurement wi...
22/07/2026
Arvato Systems and Lobster Enter into a Partnership and Combine the Integration Platform and Managed Services
Flexible integration solutions for cloud, hybrid...
22/07/2026
RT REPORTS NET SURPLUS OF 22.5 MILLION IN 2025...
22/07/2026
In the Opinion of the Censor airs Monday 27 July at 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player
In the Opinion of the Censor looks at how films for theatrical release wer...
22/07/2026
Before a healthcare robot can be useful in the real world, it has to learn how the physical world pushes back. Anatomy varies. Instruments bend, press, slip and...
21/07/2026
New research involving a cross-section of Mongolias independent media landscape finds enthusiasm for AI as a tool to improve efficiency, sustainability and resi...
21/07/2026
With winners Spain having already paraded the World Cup trophy through Madrid in front of millions of fans and the dust now settling on an epic tournament of th...
21/07/2026
In a time of disarray in regional sports broadcasting, the league will provide c...
21/07/2026
When NEP designed one of its largest recurring mobile production unit fleets for PGA TOUR
coverage, the leading media services provider faced a familiar challe...
21/07/2026
High-end analogue channel strip boasts plug-in recall
Originally revealed as a prototype back at NAMM 2024, the Channex Studio channel strip represented a b...
21/07/2026
Relies on same DSP as plug-in range
Musik Hack's line-up has been influenced heavily by founder Stan Greene's work as a mixing engineer, and their M...
21/07/2026
Official collaboration with boutique builder Dirty Boy Pedals
Warm Audio have just announced the launch of a new guitar pedal range created in collaboration...
21/07/2026
SBS scores biggest ever FIFA World Cup Reach as Spain triumph in the final
21 July, 2026
Media releases
Spain v Argentina attracted a Total TV reach of al...
21/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz showcases broad range of EMC test solutions at EMC SIPI 2026 in ...
21/07/2026
Warner Bros. Discovery's unbroken lead is interrupted as sports and live mus...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
Across the TV and streaming ecosystem, industry players face mounting pressure to do more with less. They must simplify operations, protect premium content and ...
21/07/2026
Tuxera, a leading prover of quality-assured file systems and networking technologies, is bringing its latest advances in connectivity performance to the media w...
21/07/2026
COW Jobs: Apple Motion Expert for Custom FCP Rigged Graphics Package
Brie Clayton July 21, 2026
0 Comments
HIRING: Apple Motion Expert for Custom FCP ...
21/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, will use its presence at IBC2026 (stand 7.A01, Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September) to...
21/07/2026
Calrec will be located in Hall 8, on Stand C47
Beyond bigger
For years, broadcast facilities were built around one assumption: provision for the biggest pro...
21/07/2026
Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, will discuss its future-facing developments for the new generation of medi...
21/07/2026
nxtedition returns to IBC2026 with its consolidated production platform, showing how scripting, editing, graphics, AI-assisted tools and automation can work wit...
21/07/2026
C2PA content signing helps broadcasters, public institutions, and publishers give audiences a verifiable record of where their video content came from and how i...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
New capability centralizes collaboration, feedback, security and status tracking within VIDA, providing a structured, auditable approach to master quality contr...
21/07/2026
Lightcraft Launches Exclusive Spark Story Beta for Filmmakers and Creators at SI...
21/07/2026
Indie Road Movie Where in the Hell Shot with Pocket Cinema Camera 4K
Brie Clayton July 20, 2026
0 Comments
Colorist blends vintage film looks to shape...
Prison journalism: She was in constant pain. They told her it was normal.Before she could fight cancer, Grandma had to fight for her diagnosis.
