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Diary Says Inmate Only Received Over-The-Counter Drugs Before Cancer Death

Camp Hill State Prison
Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
Camp Hill State Prison

A Vermont inmate who died of cancer at a Pennsylvania prison wrote in a diary that he repeatedly asked for medical care but was denied and given ibuprofen and Tylenol for his pain.
Sixty-eight-year-old Roger Brown died Oct. 15 at the state prison in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is reviewing the death. The Vermont Department of Corrections will do the same.

In a diary obtained by The Associated Press, Brown wrote about burning pain in his rib cage, back and hip that became unbearable and prevented him from sleeping.

VTDigger first reported on the diary.

A Pennsylvania corrections spokeswoman says the department provides "the level of care needed no matter the inmate, no matter their condition."

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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