TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former Kansas inmate alleges in a lawsuit that most of her colon had to be removed because prison officials ignored her requests for medication.

Sarah Loretta Cook, who is 68, filed the lawsuit this month against the Kansas Department of Corrections and its health care provider, Corizon Health. She says she asked for months for her needed medication but Corizon employees ignored evidence of her profuse bleeding and deteriorating medical condition.

Cook has had gastrointestinal conditions for decades. She says condition flared up while she was in the Topeka Correctional but she didn’t receive the medication until days before her release. Her condition eventually required surgeons to remove most of her colon.

The corrections department and Corizon declined to comment on the lawsuit.