Inmate’s pleas for cancer treatment were ignored until it was too late, WA report says

An inmate at a Washington state hospital who had been diagnosed with cancer while incarcerated later died before he was ever given treatment, according to a report by the state Office of Corrections Ombuds.

Seven months after the inmate at Monroe Correctional Complex went in for an unrelated medical appointment and the nurse discovered a lump in his breast, he wrote a grievance to the prison, according to the report.

“I do not have long to live according to an outside specialist who is the fourth leading cancer doctor in the world,” he wrote. “He told me I needed to start chemo aggressively right away or would not live nine months. This was 2 months ago. What is taking so long?”

The inmate died in June 2019, according to the newly released report, “fifteen months after the lump was discovered having never been treated.”

The lump was first discovered in March 2018 during a medical appointment, according to the report. No action was taken and the inmate didn’t see another doctor for two months.

In August 2018, six months after the lump was discovered, a biopsy was done that showed “invasive carcinoma.” The Department of Corrections was notified and said they would “arrange the surgical and oncological follow-up.” It took another 15 days for DOC medical staff to sign off on the report.

But the man reportedly never received treatment, including chemotherapy, and he instead died in June 2019, just six months before he was set to be released from prison. The Office of Corrections Ombuds report says that “if the patient had been treated promptly and prior to the oncological consultation almost six months after discovery of the lump, his life expectancy would likely have been extended.”

Although the report doesn’t name the inmate, death records from Snohomish County indicate that he was Kenneth Wayne Williams, 63, The Daily Herald reported.

The Department of Corrections issued a response on Monday and said that the inmate’s “primary provider” has resigned.

“Following an internal review of this tragic situation, the Department identified and is implementing significant process changes to address failures identified in the review,” Janelle Guthrie, a DOC spokesperson, said in a statement, according to the Seattle Times. “The Department of Corrections remains committed to operating a safe and humane corrections system, and to continually improving how we care for individuals in state custody.”