Denied Medical Treatment While in Jail

[Mr. Knowitall]

Peddling heroin, giving a fake name to the police... but in Connecticut, not Texas.

The boys mother, Nancy Lewis of Falls Village, said her son James suffers from cancer that is thought to have spread from his lungs to his brain. "He didn't think he was going to live long," Lewis said of her son's drug use. Special Public Defender Jennifer Tunnard represented James Bonhotel, who told Ginocchio that he understood the conditions of his release.

I inferred from your earlier post that this was likely one of the cases in which remission was brought about by the use of a "miracle drug" that works for... weeks, months, perhaps years... until it stops working. Some people with metastatic / Stage IV / "extensive stage" cancers successfully go through a series of such medications before they run out of options - alas, the options tend to run out pretty quickly with this type of cancer, and a lot of "miracle drugs" won't cross the blood-brain barrier - everybody hopes to beat the odds, but the statistics are grim. I am skeptical that radiation treatments would have done much to prevent such a rapid, massive recurrence of a metastatic cancer, but I lack access to the medical records and have no ability to talk to the oncologist.

[jk]

And Yes, I went from Cancer free (at least on the scans)

then what were they radiating? Radiotherapy is a targeted therapy used to treat specific and very limited sections of tissue. Just what were they zapping if there were no tumors?

[free9man]

I actually found another article that indicated he was wanted in TX.

But, OP's indiscretions aside I agree with Mr. Knowitall...it's entirely possible the cancer just blew up. It's not unheard of.

[propainter]

then what were they radiating? Radiotherapy is a targeted therapy used to treat specific and very limited sections of tissue. Just what were they zapping if there were no tumors?

It is preventative radiation to the brain which brings the recurrence % down from 40% to 4%.it is standard with this type of cancer after you get it into remission in the original location. But the cancer is terminal if it returns to the brain. I do not know yet if it is in the brain, it is in the lung/lymphnodes though.

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Peddling heroin, giving a fake name to the police... but in Connecticut, not Texas.

I inferred from your earlier post that this was likely one of the cases in which remission was brought about by the use of a "miracle drug" that works for... weeks, months, perhaps years... until it stops working. Some people with metastatic / Stage IV / "extensive stage" cancers successfully go through a series of such medications before they run out of options - alas, the options tend to run out pretty quickly with this type of cancer, and a lot of "miracle drugs" won't cross the blood-brain barrier - everybody hopes to beat the odds, but the statistics are grim. I am skeptical that radiation treatments would have done much to prevent such a rapid, massive recurrence of a metastatic cancer, but I lack access to the medical records and have no ability to talk to the oncologist.

Wasnt selling, just using. alot of the information in the newspapers here are inaccurate. and yes i have a probation violation in texas.
Yes the "miracle drug" was some sort of chemo which reduced the size of the tumor, and then the radiation treatments did the rest, until it was gone, in the scans anyway. the Chemo doesnt get into the brain well, which is why they do the preventative radiation. and you are right, the preventative radiation would not have stopped a rapid recurrence, however, I would have been getting scans before,during and after this process. And yes with this type of cancer the statistics are grim.

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How many actual chemo/rad sessions did you miss? What tests was the doctor doing every week that would disclose any recurrence?

Lung cancer is an extremely aggressive cancer so it's possible it didn't return until a week or two before you were released. When in your incarceration did you begin having the pains?

13 missed radiation treatments, but more importantly missed the scans that would have shown the recurrence.
Each week the Dr would do a basic examination, ask me about my symptoms, and I was getting scans frequently, and would have had one less than a week after i was incarcerated.
I began having pain and trouble breathing a couple weeks after i was incarcerated

[jk]

propainter;639981]It is preventative radiation to the brain which brings the recurrence % down from 40% to 4%.it is standard with this type of cancer after you get it into remission in the original location. But the cancer is terminal if it returns to the brain. I do not know yet if it is in the brain, it is in the lung/lymphnodes though.

so what does this have to do with a re-occurance of the tumors in your lungs? and if you don't even know if it is in the brain, then why are you speaking of it returning to the brain?



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Wasnt selling, just using. alot of the information in the newspapers here are inaccurate. and yes i have a probation violation in texas.

and an arrest record in Florida and claims of you scamming people on the internet and....


all irrelevant to your situation at hand.

Yes the "miracle drug" was some sort of chemo which reduced the size of the tumor, and then the radiation treatments did the rest, until it was gone, in the scans anyway.

You seem to be mixing two different treatments. Were your scheduled treatments for cranial radiotherapy or treatment of tumors in your lung(s)?



if you were undergoing radiation treatment to your lungs, then they would not have claimed you had no tumors because that is what they are irradiating. They must wait until the treatment is completed before they even know if it was successful.

[propainter]

Because if i had gotten the preventative treatments/kept my appointments there would have been scans done, and the recurrence in the lung/nodes would have been spotted early. The scan I got yesterday showed the cancer is bigger than it was when i was originally diagnosed.

Irrelevant indeed, thank you

My scheduled treatments were cranial, with scans beforehand
And yes if the recurrence in the lung was spotted the preventative cranial radiation would be postponed

[free9man]

Because if i had gotten the preventative treatments/kept my appointments there would have been scans done, and the recurrence in the lung/nodes would have been spotted early. The scan I got yesterday showed the cancer is bigger than it was when i was originally diagnosed.

The problem you are likely to run into is that this sounds like an extremely aggressive cancer. It could have gone from 0-100MPH at any point during you incarceration, even up to the last week. There is not necessarily a definitive link to your symptoms in jail, were they constant throughout your stay?

Then there is the possibility that early detection may not even have impacted your prognosis. As Mr.Knowitall said earlier, have an attorney you are comfortable working with review all the facts. We can only speculate without them.

[jk]

You were aware of your situation (actually scheduled for radiotherapy) yet you decided to go out and buy drugs and on top of that, speed while transporting those drugs. It is not unexpected for the DOC to require some time to either re-establish treatment or allow for such treatment after you are jailed.

I suspect with even with a minimally reasonable explanation for the delay or support that the lack of a delay would not have been of any real benefit, a jury is just not going to sympathize with you here. You would have to almost prove their intent was malicious.

so, try to find an attorney that will take on your case. If everybody refuses, then that pretty much tells you what they think your chances of prevailing are.