Clemency

Mr. C is a 57 year old african american male prisoner with a history of hepatitis C liver cirrhosis who presented to the emergency department with complaints of abdominal pain, diffuse bony pains, nausea, and loss of appetite. After pan-scanning Mr. C it became evident that he had widely metastatic cancer. Given the history of Hepatitis C and the prominent masses in his liver as well as a lab test called AFP which had rapidly doubled, it was thought that he had a type of Liver cancer called Hepatocellular Cancer. A biopsy of his Virchow's Node (left supraclavicular lymph node) confirmed my suspicions. The imaging showed likely metastases to his rib cage, spine, hip, adrenal glands, and spleen. This was late stage cancer, associated with an extremely poor prognosis. Mr. C probably had less than 2 months to live, and I had the tough job of telling him his diagnosis and likely prognosis. The attending physician and I decided to try to put a silver lining on this bleak grey cloud by petitioning to the judge to award Mr. C clemency, so that he could leave prison and spend his remaining days on earth with his family, including his young grandchildren who he had not yet gotten to see much of at all. I made numerous calls, and faxed over official paperwork to the judge's office stating that death for him was "imminent". There wasn't too much that we could do for Mr. C medically, but I did feel good to have helped him and his family in this small way.