Deceased
James Sampson Doran
Demographics
85y, male
Coroner
Decision ofDeputy State Coroner Grahame
Date of death
2018-10-13
Finding date
2021-11-18
Cause of death
metastatic prostate cancer
AI-generated summary
An 85-year-old man died of metastatic prostate cancer while in custody serving a sentence for historical child sexual offences. He had declined investigation and treatment for prostate cancer when an enlarged prostate was noted in 2017, subsequently diagnosed with metastatic disease in 2018 with a Gleason score of 9. He suffered two falls in custody, the second resulting in hip fracture shortly before death. The coroner found the cause of death was natural and that appropriate care was provided for his pre-existing conditions whilst in custody, with no issues identified in resuscitation attempts. The case illustrates challenges in managing elderly, infirm prisoners with multiple comorbidities and the importance of respecting patient autonomy in cancer screening decisions, even in custodial settings.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes. Report an inaccuracy.
Specialties
Drugs involved
Clinical conditions
Procedures
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31-year-old man serving a custodial sentence died of metastatic alveolar soft part sarcoma on 25 January 2022. Diagnosed April 2020, the ultra-rare cancer (1 in 10 million incidence) had already metastasised at discovery…
75y · Male·metastatic pancreatic cancer
A 75-year-old man died from metastatic pancreatic cancer while in lawful custody. He was diagnosed in February 2025 and underwent palliative chemotherapy at Prince of Wales Hospital from March-April 2025. He developed an…
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