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
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
12/08/2025
CRANBURY, N.J. IHSE USA is introducing its newest solution, the Draco XStreme series. The new KVM extender product line is based on a new hardware platform and ...
12/08/2025
LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK In a notable example of sports rights shifting to streaming, Paramount and TKO Group Holdings have struck a seven-year, $7.7 billion me...
12/08/2025
PORTSMOUTH, NH Bundling is not only becoming more popular among insurance carriers, it's become increasingly more popular among TV viewers....
12/08/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commissioner Olivia Trusty has announced staff changes that include Marcus Maher joining the Office of Commissioner Trusty as ...
12/08/2025
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. LG Electronics (LG) is reporting that its efforts to add more news content to its LG Channels free streaming platform over the last year ...
12/08/2025
WASHINGTON As expected, the Federal Communications Commission has embarked on a major effort to reexamine the national alert and warning systems, including the ...
12/08/2025
ISSY-LES-MOULINEAUX, France France 24, the international news and current affairs television network broadcasting in French, English, Arabic and Spanish, has de...
12/08/2025
KPop Demon Hunters Is Coming to Theaters Assistant Professor Claire Marie Lim discusses the Netflix film and K-pop trends ahead of the one-weekend-only theatr...
11/08/2025
A total of six young trainees successfully completed their vocational training a...
11/08/2025
BRISTOL, Conn., and LOS ANGELES As ESPN and Fox prepare to launch new direct-to-consumer services on Aug. 21, the two companies have announced that starting Oct...
11/08/2025
PORTLAND, Ore. In the wake of reports that Nexstar Media Group and Tegna are in advanced merger talks, respected advertising and media analyst Brian Wieser'...
11/08/2025
The Trusted Partner Network (TPN), the Motion Picture Association's (MPA) global content security initiative, today announced the upcoming launch of its nex...
11/08/2025
Amagi, a cloud-based SaaS technology solutions provider for broadcast and streaming TV, today announced that Vodafone selected it as a technical service provide...
11/08/2025
DHD audio, a globally active developer of digital mixing, production and contribution systems for broadcast and online applications, announces the appointment o...
11/08/2025
Yospace, the global leader in Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI), will showcase the latest advancements in ad-supported streaming technology at IBC2025 (12 - 15 Septemb...
11/08/2025
Limecraft announces new additions to the feature set of its cloud-based media and entertainment production and delivery platform. Version 2025.5 will be demonst...
11/08/2025
The Video Services Forum (VSF) has further enhanced the Reliable Internet Streaming Transport (RIST) protocol by incorporating a new feature, RIST Satellite-Hyb...
11/08/2025
11 08 2025 - Media release Screen Australia celebrates emerging creatives and cu...
11/08/2025
Netflix Inks Rights Deal in Canada for FIFA Women's World Cup in 2027 and 20...
11/08/2025
Fresh Off Skydance Deal, Paramount Lands UFC Rights in U.S. With Seven-Year, $7....
11/08/2025
ESPN DTC and FOX ONE To Launch $39.99/Month Combined Sports Bundle By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Monday, August 11, 2025 - 11:18 am
Print This...
11/08/2025
Inside DAZN's Game-Changing Production Feat at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup The streaming service and its partners delivered 63 matches from 12 sites to 200...
11/08/2025
Rohde & Schwarz Australia and STS Defence team up for Hunter Class Frigate Progr...
11/08/2025
Back to All News
Chinese-Language Series The Resurrected' Starring Shu Qi ...
11/08/2025
Back to All News
Archewell Productions Extends Creative Partnership with Netflix
Entertainment
11 August 2025
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Archewell Pr...
11/08/2025
ESPN DTC and FOX One to Launch Combined Bundle Offer Viewers will have the opportunity to bundle ESPN's DTC Unlimited Offering and FOX One for $39.99 per ...
11/08/2025
All Focusrite USB interfaces are now compatible with Windows on Arm Youre just a free download away from recording, podcasting, or streaming on the next gener...
11/08/2025
Using NVIDIA digital twin technologies, Amazon Devices & Services is powering bi...
11/08/2025
Packing the power of the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture in compact, energy-effici...
11/08/2025
Physical AI is becoming the foundation of smart cities, facilities and industria...
11/08/2025
The game of betrayal has come to Ireland and the walls of Slane Castle have secrets to tell
Sunday, August 31
RT One and RT Player
The Traitors Ireland | ...
10/08/2025
Back to All News
New Series Plastic Beauty' Cuts Deep into Japan's Cos...
09/08/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr announced the ap...
09/08/2025
ATLANTA CBS Stations has announced the senior leadership team for WUPA, soon to rebrand as owned-and-operated station CBS Atlanta. The network affiliation chang...
09/08/2025
A new study from S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan is forecasting rapid advertising growth for Amazon's streaming efforts....
08/08/2025
(L-R) Amy Berg, Mary Guibert, and Ben Harper attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival It's Not Over, Jeff Buckley premiere The Ray Theatre. (Photo by Robin ...
08/08/2025
ATLANTA Following an announcement in June that Byron Allen's Allen Media Group planned to sell its TV stations, Gray Media struck a deal to acquire AMG'...
08/08/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr announced the ap...
08/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox has finally announced a launch data and pricing for Fox One, with the direct-to-consumer streaming service set to launch Aug. 21 fo...
08/08/2025
PLYMOUTH, Wis. Heartland Video Systems has announced that they've signed a reseller agreement with Cuez for the company's all-in-one rundown/news room c...
08/08/2025
Grass Valley, the pioneering media and entertainment technology innovator, is bringing the full power of the Grass Valley Media Universe (GVMU) to IBC 2025 with...
08/08/2025
Alfalite, the only European manufacturer of LED screens, announces the successful inauguration of a new Virtual Production XR studio at the ITS Apulia Foundatio...
08/08/2025
The Scottish Rite Childhood Language Center (SRCLC), a nonprofit clinic dedicated to supporting children with communication disorders, has significantly upgrade...
08/08/2025
European developer Profuz Digital will present at IBC Stand 8.A88, the latest version of subtitling platform SubtitleNEXT and new capabilities in the powerful A...
08/08/2025
Disguise has announced a major update to its AI-powered workflow assistant for Designer Pro, Ask AId3n. The update enables production teams to sequence repetiti...
08/08/2025
Wyandotte Municipal Services (WMS), a municipal non-profit service provider, has successfully deployed Synamedia Gravity, a cloud-based device management and se...
08/08/2025
IBC2025 has unveiled a powerful and provocative IBC2025 Conference line-up that will bring together global disruptors and long-established leaders from across t...
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.
