Watchdog faults Bureau of Prisons for failing to screen inmates for colorectal cancer

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By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Bureau of Prisons is failing to routinely screen older inmates for colorectal cancer, and has in some cases failed to follow up with proper medical care after inmates tested positive in cancer screening, a new report has found.

The report from Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz comes after one of the government’s most high-profile inmates, former FBI Agent Robert Hanssen, died of colon cancer in June 2023.

Hanssen was serving a life sentence after he pleaded guilty to spying for the Soviet Union and later for Russia.

According to Horowitz’s report, Hanssen had multiple positive results on a stool test commonly used to screen for colorectal cancer, but was never given a diagnosis or offered a follow-up colonoscopy.

Tuesday’s report from Horowitz also cited concerns about a second inmate – Frederick Bardell – who also died of colon cancer in June 2023 shortly after leaving prison on compassionate release.

A judge previously scolded the BOP for repeatedly rejecting his requests for release due to his cancer diagnosis, and Horowitz’s report found that Bardell faced a 6-month delay in getting a colonoscopy after he first noticed blood in his stool.

“Our evaluation identified several serious operational and managerial deficiencies that the BOP must address to ensure that inmates receive proper screening and treatment for colorectal cancer,” Horowitz wrote.

Based on his review, he said his office found that less than two-thirds of average risk inmates between ages 45 and 74 received a colorectal cancer screening as of April 2024.

The review also found that about 10% of a sampling of 327 inmates had no documented medical follow-up after receiving a positive result in colorectal cancer screening.

In a written response to Horowitz’s report, BOP Director William Marshall said he concurred with the report’s recommendations for improving cancer screenings for inmates, and blamed “longstanding staffing issues” for compromising efforts to screen inmates for colorectal cancer in certain facilities.

“If detected early, colorectal cancer has a 5-year survival rate of 90%, with survival declining steeply the later it is caught,” he wrote. “The Bureau is fully committed to its ongoing efforts to improve in these areas.”

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Bill Berkrot)