The treatment, placement and care of terminally ill prisoners in Texas prisons

[aorangecrush]

Attempted search terms: "Terminally ill prisoners", "Dying prisoners", "Medical treatment of prisoners", "Texas prisons" "Stiles Prison". I searched, yahoo, google and wikipedia.

Setting(When): Now

Setting(Where): Texas

I've got a guy in jail, sentenced to life for murder. He is misdiagnosed with cancer and given less than 6 mons to live. According

Comments

[clio75]

http://www.npha.org/articles.html
I just googled prison hospice texas. Lots of articles here

[aorangecrush]

Thanks. I read the one about the Michael Unit which is where I've decided to place him.

[lilacsigil]

Cancer diagnosis and treatment is not a one off - it's an ongoing process. It's very rare that someone is told "whoops, terminal cancer" and that's usually when a cancer has already metastasised throughout much of the body. Immunosuppressed and/or elderly people are the most likely candidates for that. If he starts getting better that will be investigated, too - is the tumour shrinking? Is treatment working? Is he just randomly feeling better?

[aorangecrush]

TBH, I'm kind of using cancer as a place holder. Do you have any advice on what I might give him instead?

[lilacsigil]

Well, that would depend on your story needs. Positive but incorrect diagnosis is much rarer than a failure to diagnose. Maybe fast-acting multiple sclerosis when in fact the patient just has an easily-corrected B12 deficiency?

[aorangecrush]

Thanks, I'm going to go look up fast-acting multiple sclerosis. I just really need something that would let him meet the requirements for prisoners transferring to the Michael Unit in Texas. It would have to be something that gave him 6 mons or less to live. Thanks again for your help.