A woman with cancer who has been held on remand for almost a year while she awaits trial for stalking, alongside the UK's most dangerous female prisoners, is begging to be allowed to undergo radiotherapy in hospital, in a desperate bid to save her life.
Farah Damji was refused bail despite having stage 3 breast cancer and has now missed the window to have chemotherapy. She is held on the same wing at HMP Bronzefield as baby killer Lucy Letby and Beinash Batool, who tortured and murdered her own step daughter Sara Sharif. The 57-year-old, who denies all the charges against her, has been held at the Surrey prison for almost a year and was even chained to a prison guard for three weeks after life-saving surgery back in April 2024.
The mother of two grown-up children, Damji fears she will die and is backed by her oncologist who says the chance of breast cancer reoccurring without radiotherapy is drastically increased. The prison insists she can have the treatment, but will be subjected to a nine-hour round trip to the hospital and back each day, while suffering the gruelling side effects.
Dr Jake Hard, a GP with special interest in prison medicine, wrote a report for the court back in April 2024, fearing outcomes for Damji undergoing cancer treatment in jail, and speaking to the Mirror almost a year on his says all of his warnings have come true. Dr Hard, who is often called on an expert in criminal trials, said that for radiotherapy treatment Damji would need to be taken by the prison every day for 15 sessions over three weeks. He said due to a lack of officers, other prisoners would not get out to their appointments, or the transport from prison to hospital would simply be cancelled when staff are moved to other parts of the prison for emergencies.
Dr Hard, who is Clinical Director at HMP Cardiff and the Associate Clinical Director for the South West Prisons for Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust and a member of the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody, said: "I would say Farah's chances of radiotherapy while in prison are at zero. If she was admitted to hospital it would have much more chance of success, it doesn't make sense. Admit her to hospital, give her the treatment she needs then send her back to prison. At the moment it is unlikely to go ahead, I can't see how the prison can manage the logistics. If I were her GP I would be I would be pushing to get her this treatment as an inpatient."
Damji is supported by The View magazine which advocates for women in prison. Jacqui from the publication told the Mirror: "The cancer journey is a hard one, and these treatments are tough enough on their own, they carry life-threatening risks and she is being forced to go back to a prison cell. We know that recently a 20-minute appointment took the prison nine hours to get her there and back, and having not eaten all all day, and exhausted, she wasn't left a single thing to eat.
"Despite what the community health team would like to portray, she is not getting the same treatment as she would in the community. She has already missed the window for chemotherapy, and she only has access to the treatments she is offered, she is not being treated like everyone else. Farah is legally innocent, in this country you are innocent until proven guilty and she is locked up in prison while seriously ill. She has been let down by everyone, how much more does she need to be degraded? She is the only one who is paying the price, and her life is too high price to pay."
Back in September, Damji herself said she felt as if she was "being held to ransom by the court" and pleaded to be granted bail, saying she would comply with "whatever conditions they see fit". In April 2024, just a month after she was sent to prison, Damji needed an triple lumpectomy operation and was accompanied to University College Hospital in London by prison guards. Immediately after surgery she was chained to them while she attempted to recover. Damji spent three months in hospital, having picked up infections, before being sent back to HMP Bronzefield in July. She fears prison is not a safe place to have the treatment.
Speaking back in September, she said: "I need my family and friends around me in order to get through this. I cannot imagine what my children are going through, because I haven't seen them for months. The conditions here are unhygienic and unsanitary, there is black mould in the shower and the food is unhealthy and I cannot get the basics I need or manage the complex wound infections I have contracted since being back here. I have watched what they have done to other patients when they go out for chemo, they cannot manage the logistics, nor the side effects of the pain, vomiting and distress of the treatment. There is no way I can put myself through that without my support network and I refuse to be treated like a dog, chained throughout my visits and treatment."
Damji's consultant was also so concerned about conditions inside the prison he supported her bail application, which was ultimately rejected. Consultant oncoplastic breast surgeon at UCLH Mr Dibendu Betal wrote: "I do have concerns regarding the administration of chemotherapy whilst still remanded in HMP Bronzefield. As the prison is one of the most highly populated women's prisons in UK, isolation from the overcrowded conditions cannot be guaranteed. [She] will be immunocompromised during chemotherapy treatment and the worst-case scenario is neutropenic sepsis.
"Neutropenic sepsis is a life-threatening complication of chemotherapy due to a severely low neutrophil count. Early recognition and treatment are critical because it can rapidly lead to severe infection and septic shock. I understand that HMP Bronzefield can transfer a patient in an emergency, however I have concerns whether she would be transferred to the nearest hospital or to UCLH. I am also aware that HMP Bronzefield do not have separate medical facilities for self-isolation. The only room they have available is for prisoners suffering from mental health breakdown. This would not be an appropriate place to hold someone receiving chemotherapy. My belief is that whilst she remains at HMP Bronzefield for further treatment, there is risk to her health due to overcrowded conditions and potential detrimental prognosis."
A former New York art gallery owner, Damji is currently on remand, facing three charges relating to her ex-boyfriend, Nigel Gould-Davies. She claims he made false allegations against her and denies the charges. She is accused of theft of his passport, harassment of him and fraud, by the misuse of his credit card. She was due to face trial on the three charges in November, but the case has been put back to April 2025. The judge refused her bail after siding with the prosecution's arguments that she may commit further crimes, interfere with witnesses and/or fail to attend court, if granted.
A spokeswoman for Sodexo which runs HMP Bronzefield said they do not comment on individual prisoners.
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