By Leo Cardez
From PHN Issue 36, Spring 2018
Our minds can be our best friend or our worst enemy. In prison, we spend a lot of time alone with our thoughts and living in our heads. This can be a blessing or a curse. Continue reading “Livin’ the Dream”
From PHN Issue 35, Winter 2018
Preparing your own meals from items you purchase from commissary allows you to control what you’re putting into your meals and pay attention to the contents. Just as our body must consume a particular number of calories, it must also consume vitamins. Unfortunately, in most cases, kitchens overcook the vegetables and its extracting the vitamins we need. To make up for this, you can eat fruit…Regardless of what you eat, it’s good to drink water throughout the day in order for the body to function properly. Drinking water will help you digest food properly. Continue reading “Nutrition Tips from Our Readers”
By Fatima Malika Shabazz
From PHN Issue 35, Winter 2018
I have been fighting long and hard to get gender reassignment surgery here in California. There are now protocols in place for inmates in the California Department of Corrections to apply for surgery. I applied with the medical department for reassignment surgery, but I kept my civil action (lawsuit) open. I have not lost a major motion to date, so the outlook (at least for now) looks pretty good for negotiation. Continue reading “California Begins to Allow Gender-Appropriate Clothing”
By Suzy Subways
From PHN Issue 35, Winter 2018
As many as four out of every ten people incarcerated in state prisons are living with hepatitis C, the US Department of Health and Human Services reports. But fewer than one out of every hundred people in prison living with chronic hepatitis C are getting treatment, according to Mandy Altman of the Hepatitis Education Project. Prisons are refusing to provide treatment even though there is now a cure. Drug companies have been allowed to set extremely high prices, because we live under a free-market economic system, and states lack the money to pay. Continue reading “There’s a Way to Eliminate Hepatitis C, but Is There a Will?”
By Lucy Gleysteen
From PHN Issue 35, Winter 2018
Finding out that you have both HIV and hepatitis C can be difficult. Some people can be living with HIV and/or hepatitis C and not know their status because it sometimes takes a long time for symptoms to appear. If you think you might have contracted HIV or hepatitis C, you can ask your doctor to provide testing. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services guidelines, prisons should provide testing. Continue reading “HIV and Hepatitis C Co-Infection”
By James A. Rucks, Jr.
From PHN Issue 35, Winter 2018
First, what is anger? Anger is an emotion, a strong feeling that Webster’s Dictionary defines as “a strong feeling of displeasure and usually of antagonism.”
Second, why worry about anger? Because if it is not dealt with, anger can turn into rage, like a teapot or a volcano effect. It can also lead to severe health problems such as (but not limited to) heart problems, high blood pressure, and stroke. Continue reading “Anger Management While in Prison”
by Darrell L. Taylor
From PHN Issue 34, Fall 2017
In the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), inmates are not screened for colorectal cancer until the age of 50, regardless of what ethnic group one may belong to. It has been established that people of African origin are at higher risk than other ethnic groups and therefore should be screened at an earlier age, especially if there is a family history. Finding and removing polyps on the inner wall of the colon or rectum can prevent colorectal cancer. Continue reading “Colorectal Cancer Occurring Earlier”
Reprinted with permission from the Prevention Access Campaign
From PHN Issue 34, Fall 2017
There is now evidence-based confirmation that the risk of (sexual) HIV transmission from a person living with HIV (PLHIV), who is on Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) and has achieved an undetectable viral load in their blood for at least 6 months is negligible to non-existent. (Negligible is defined as: so small or unimportant as to be not worth considering; insignificant.) While HIV is not always transmitted even with a detectable viral load, when the partner with HIV has an undetectable viral load this both protects their own health and prevents new HIV infections.[i] Continue reading “Risk of Sexual Transmission of HIV from a Person Living with HIV who has an Undetectable Viral Load”
By Elisabeth Long
From PHN Issue 34, Fall 2017
“Money kept them in. Black love got them out.”
— Pat Hussain, Co-founder of Southerners on New Ground
This August, activists bailed out 51 Black women, queer and trans folks across the South as part of the Black August Bail Out organized by Southerners on New Ground (SONG). SONG is a Queer Liberation organization made up of people of color, immigrants, undocumented people, people with disabilities, working class and rural and small town lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) people in the South. The Black August Bail Out is a continuation of bail outs happening around the country that began with the Mama’s Day Bail Out in May. Organizers found people to bail out in several ways, such as using public records requests and allying with public defenders. They met with women inside to ask their permission to bail them out and to find out what their needs might be after being released. In addition to bail, donated funds were used to provide short-term housing, healthcare, transportation, drug treatment, mental health care and other support services to people the activists bailed out. Continue reading “Black August Bail Out Honors Legacy of Resistance and Black Freedom Dreams”
by Erin Tully and PHN staff
From PHN Issue 34, Fall 2017
Breast Cancer is the most common cancer in the United States. While breast cancer is most likely to affect cisgender women, it affects people of all genders. (Cisgender means people whose gender identity matches the sex that they were assigned at birth.) Mammograms are recommended for people over the age of 40 who have breasts. Continue reading “Breast Health and Screening Mammograms”
Prison Health News 