Inquest into the death of Richard Willett
Deceased
Richard Willett
Demographics
86y, male
Date of death
2018-06-23
Finding date
2020-12-10
Cause of death
Complication of metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma
AI-generated summary
Richard Willett, 86-year-old prisoner, died from complications of metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma while in NSW Corrective Services custody. He was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer with liver and lymph node metastasis in May 2017 and received appropriate oncology care at Prince of Wales Hospital, including stent placement and chemotherapy. Treatment was discontinued in September 2017 due to toxicity, and end-of-life care commenced in June 2018. The coroner found no issues with medical care provided during custody. The case demonstrates appropriate management of advanced malignancy in a custodial setting, with timely specialist referral, palliative care involvement, and comfort-focused end-of-life planning. This death represents a natural outcome of advanced metastatic cancer despite appropriate clinical intervention.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Drugs involved
Clinical conditions
Procedures
Contributing factors
- advanced metastatic disease with liver and lymph node involvement
- chemotherapy toxicity
- advanced age
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