Category: Cancer

  • 18. Case: When the “Truth” is Painful

    Mrs. Sally Parrot, a 73-year old widow, has mild dementia of a presumed neurovascular type. She resides in her own small apartment in Serenity, a private continuing care community in Bedford, where she receives some assistance with housekeeping, meal preparation and organization of her medications. Sally is actively engaged in Serenity’s structured activities and, in…

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  • 16. Case: Shifting Gears

    Nedra has been fighting ovarian cancer for 3 years. When first diagnosed, Nedra had surgery followed by intensive chemotherapy. Although it initially looked like she might be moving into remission, things started to change about 6 months ago. Nedra started experiencing some bone pain and it was discovered that her cancer had metastasized. Although radiation…

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  • 11. Case: Truth-Telling

    The patient is an 89-year-old gentleman with moderate dementia and a history of COPD, swallowing difficulties, a CVA, and recent aspiration. The investigation of his aspiration uncovered a lesion in his lung- the physicians felt it was likely to be cancerous. Thoracic surgery verified that it was lung cancer and a determination was made that…

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  • 9. Case: Right to Treatment

    A 54-year-old male patient has been treated for cancer for 2 years, but his illness has not responded to the major lines of treatment. He has been admitted to hospital with worsening nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, and failure to thrive. A CT scan showed progression of disease as evidenced by new ascites along with…

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  • 8. Case: Who Should Decide?

    This case concerns a 35-year-old developmentally delayed female patient (functional age about 5 years old); her mother is her legal guardian. The patient tested positive for a BRCA gene mutation. Her mother is concerned that her daughter may develop ovarian cancer and wants her to have preventive surgery. Her physician does not believe this is…

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