She Pleaded For Medical Care In Prison. By The Time She Got Out, Her Cancer Was Untreatable.

Mississippi prison health care contractors withheld cancer diagnosis and treatment for years, a lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges.

Susie Balfour first started noticing painful lumps in her breast almost 30 years ago. But imprisoned in Mississippi, Balfour didn’t have access to much preventative or diagnostic health care.

In 2021, days before she was released, a prison health care official confirmed what she had long feared: She had breast cancer. Once free, Balfour immediately underwent a bilateral mammogram and extensive testing to see what treatment options were available. She learned that the cancer had progressed to stage 4, spreading to both breasts, her lymph nodes and her thoracic spine. It was untreatable and terminal.

On Wednesday, she filed a civil lawsuit in federal court against several groups and individuals that have contracted with the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) to provide health care services to prisoners, including Wexford Health Sources, Centurion of Mississippi and VitalCore Health Strategies. She accused the defendants of maintaining profit-seeking policies that discouraged adequate care, deliberate indifference to her medical needs, and medical malpractice.

These practices violate Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment, the complaint alleged, noting that Balfour “suffered physical and mental injuries,” including “months of unnecessary and prolonged pain and suffering, a more serious diagnosis, and a diminished life expectancy.”

“These contracts set up a financial reward to delay or flat out deny healthcare to incarcerated individuals,” Andrew Tominello, Balfour’s attorney, said in a statement. “They withheld critical care from Ms. Balfour for a decade, and that suggests they were hoping she would die in prison so they wouldn’t have to pay for the treatments she needed. What they did to this woman to increase profits is beyond callous, it’s pure evil, and we will hold them accountable.”