"From her front porch in Reserve, Louisiana, Mary Hampton looks in every direction and sees ghosts.
To her left is her brother Fred’s home. He died from cancer. On the right is another brother’s home. His wife, Olga Mae, she died from cancer too. Across the street? A neighbor who died from cancer just a couple of months ago. The list goes on and on.
Hampton is not alone. Many residents in this tight-knit, predominantly black riverside town can rattle off a similarly jarring list of loved ones who have battled or died from cancer.
“Almost every household has somebody that died with cancer or that’s battling cancer,” Hampton says. “It’s the worst thing you’d ever want to see: a loved one, laying in that bed, pining away, dying. Just to sit and look at them, and know you can’t do anything about it.”"
Jamiles Lartey and Oliver Laughland report for the Guardian May 6, 2019.
SEE ALSO:
"Cancer And Chemicals In Reserve, Louisiana: The Science Explained" (Guardian)
