Deb Abrahamson blames mining pollution for her cancer , keeps fighting toxic legacy on Spokane reservation
Sun ., Dec . 1 , 2019
Deb Abrahamson , a longtime activist on the Spokane Indian Reservation who attributes her terminal cancer to the reservation ’ s legacy of uranium mining and processing , poses for a photo at her home in Spokane on Tuesday , Oct . 8 , 2019 . ( Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review )
By
Ted McDermott tedm @ spokesman . com ( 509 ) 459-5405
Even when Deb Abrahamson talks about herself – about being diagnosed with a cancerous , newborn-sized tumor in her uterus , about the misdiagnoses leading up to that , about the new tumor that now stretches from “ hip bone to hip bone ,” about how there ’ s no cure – she ’ s thinking about her community .
It ’ s the experience of living near or working in the uranium mining and processing industry on and around the Spokane Indian Reservation and coming down with deadly and disabling illnesses .