James F. Popkowski, a 15-year Marine veteran and cancer patient, was shot and killed during a confrontation with police outside a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) office earlier this year. In a report released last week, the VA admits that Popkowski was mistreated. Popkowski, known to friends as "Bing," detailed the effects of his medical and psychological problems in a lengthy blog written on the NewScientist website in response to a story detailing the side effects of stem cell transplants.
On the blog post, which can be found at the bottom of this link, Popkowski described his battle with chronic pain and depression. Popkowski wrote:
