They are behind bars, but women inside an Arizona prison are letting their voices be heard through a website.

The women use mail to get their stories about being diagnosed with cancer, waiting on open-heart surgery, and other aspects of life in prison out into the world and onto PerryvilleWomen.com.

“Our society needs to know the truth about how we are treated in every aspect of our lives in here due to our bad choices," one of the women told The Arizona Republic.

The website was created in December 2018. The Republic confirmed the authenticity of the postings, which are initialed, through further correspondence with the women.

How the website came to be

A childhood friend of one of the inmates posts the material.

Inmates incarcerated at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Perryville, located in Goodyear, send their handwrittenletters to her.

The woman told The Arizona Republic she decided to help with the website because of the childhood connection. They became friends at 12, when they were neighbors. They stuck together at school and “were somewhat nerds,” she said.

She still visits her friend in prison. She asked that her name not be used to avoid repercussions for either of them.

“I hope that we can build an audience so we can build awareness,” she told The Republic.

She doesn't edit the letters, she said.

The website includes art, poetry and recipes by the women. Many of the paintings and other works of art are for sale.

Department of Corrections spokesman Andrew Wilder had no comment when asked about the website.

Breast cancer, heart problems and other health issues

Many blog posts focus on health issues and raise a lot of concerns.

From the posts, it is unclear how much context the women gathered from prison medical staff about their conditions and medication.

A 65-year-old woman told her story of her diagnosis of stage IV breast cancer.

“I am the product of cancer three-times over (in prison). Being a non-recipient of adequate care, as well as normal human decency, from all involved, including medical professionals,” she wrote.

A doctor said her life expectancy was 10 years or less.

“They have taken my life and given me a death sentence, twice over,” she wrote.

“We are all not perfect, but the world we live in is behind these walls," she wrote in a letter to The Republic. "Our society needs to feel our pain. See us as human beings, as sisters, mothers, aunts.”

In a blog post, a woman wrote about “scale skin lesions” found on her face. She said a doctor diagnosed her with squamous cell carcinoma, a skin cancer that can become more serious because it can spread to other parts of the body.

In her letter to The Republic, the woman said she also has diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. She claims the staff is giving her the wrong amount of insulin and that the prison does not serve specific diets for inmates who are diabetic.

The Department of Corrections has a policy regarding medical diets, but there is no diet specifically for people with diabetes.

According to the department’s manual, the general population menu is appropriate for people with diabetes, hypoglycemia or a metabolic syndrome.

If prisoners refuse their diet for more than a couple of days, they must receive counseling from medical staff on reasons why the diet is important to maintain, according to a settlement in the ongoing Parsons vs. Ryan lawsuit over prisoners' physical, mental and dental health care.

One woman wrote that three women at the prison have green discharge coming from a breast. She said the women were prescribed antibiotics.

A woman claimed she received a heart infection called infective endocarditis after dental work because she did not have antibiotics before the surgery, according to her blog post.

Issues concerning underwear, sheets

Personal care and other supplies also were the subject of complaints.

According to a blog post made in May, the women said they waited weeks for underwear and did not receive sheets but only two blankets for their beds.

When women arrive at the prison, they receive three sets of clothing that include jumpsuits, T-shirts, socks, underwear, bras, a pair of shoes and slippers, according to Wilder.

He said women also receive a laundry bag containing hygiene supplies, two bed sheets and one blanket.

According to Wilder, women are able to exchange their worn or torn clothing by submitting a form to officers.

"While the routine process to exchange worn out clothing can take about a week, women can exchange ripped clothing or otherwise unusable underwear right away, without any wait," he said. "It’s a one-for-one trade, based on having the size on hand. If the item was not on hand, the unit contacts the warehouse to obtain it for the inmate."

Have thoughts about Arizona’s legal system? Reach criminal justice reporter Lauren Castle at Lauren.Castle@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Lauren_Castle.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.