This is Larry Stromberg, SCI Phoenix in Pennsylvania. This is my short play titled “They Can’t Go Wrong.”
My name’s Joseph, I’m incarcerated. I’m 45 years now and I’m going for chemotherapy. I’ve got stage 4 colon cancer and it’s getting worse. I’m wearing a colostomy bag, wearing a diaper, feces myself. They’ve got me at the infirmary and I’m down 120 pounds.
They just applied for compassionate release for me and I don’t think I’m gonna make it out of here. They diagnosed the cancer a high stage. It’s stage 4 right now and I’ve done everything I can; my life in prison here and better myself in education and all that. No write ups. Didn’t matter. Cancer got me. Gonna die pretty soon.
Compassionate release, hopefully they’ll give it to me. I don’t know. I got no family left out there. I don’t know where I’m gonna go. Even if I was to get outside, I don’t know where I’m gonna go. So, what I’m saying is, this prison thing is pretty vicious. A lot of people die here every day. If you get cancer, there’s a way out, but a body bag.
So, I’m not saying this to feel sorry for myself or for anyone to feel sorry for me or anything like that but the consequences of me come in prison here: Nobody’s helping me. I’m all alone. I’m gonna die alone. I got the canker worm, which means cancer.
This Larry Stromberg, SCI Phoenix. Thank you so much.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.
