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ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE: We report here a terminally ill patient with stomach cancer who developed a brief psychotic disorder mimicking cerebrovascular attack after a short episode of nasal bleeding. Close examination of the patient revealed that nasal bleeding was an event that symbolized deterioration of the general condition leading to death for the patient. METHODS: A 77-year-old male, who was diagnosed as having stomach cancer and was receiving palliative care, presented with tremor and insomnia just after a short episode of nasal bleeding and showed reduced response to stimuli mimicking cerebrovascular attack. Laboratory data were unremarkable. The next day, catatonic behavior developed. He had no history of psychiatric illness or drug or alcohol abuse. After receiving haloperidol, psychiatric symptoms disappeared and he returned to the previous level of functioning within 3 days. The patient explained that he had seen a patient whose general condition deteriorated after nasal bleeding and regarded nasal bleeding as a symptom of deteriorating general condition leading to death and thereafter became afraid of the nasal bleeding. RESULTS AND SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: Although, nasal bleeding is common and usually not severe in medical settings, for the patient, it was an event that symbolized deterioration of the general condition leading to death. Brief psychotic disorder in cancer patients is rare in the literature, although patients receiving terminal care share various kinds of psychological burden. Medical staff in the palliative care unit should be aware of the psychological distress experienced by each patient and consider brief psychotic disorder as part of the differential diagnosis when patients show unexplained neurological-like and/or psychiatric symptoms.
Palliative and Supportive Care 04/2006; 4(1):87-9.
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ABSTRACT: It is known that families of terminally-ill cancer patients show levels of emotional and functional disruption and are called "second order patients," however, little is actually known about the health problems of family members, especially in terms of cancer.
This study reviewed the family histories of terminally-ill cancer patients in a palliative care unit and investigated cancer related health problems of the spouses of terminally-ill cancer patients.
We investigated the past medical history of 125 spouses of terminally-ill cancer patients and found that five spouses had a past medical history of cancer. In these five spouses, the duration of illness, present status of treatment and physical condition were reviewed from the database. Of these five spouses, three patients continued to attend an outpatient clinic regularly for checkup and one patient was hospitalized for nephrectomy. Two spouses did not have physical symptoms that made them unable to provide direct care for the terminally-ill spouses, while three could not provide care because of their own physical symptoms derived from cancer.
Our findings indicated that some of the spouses of terminally-ill cancer patients are not only "second order patients" but also "cancer patients." Our findings also suggest that some spouses of terminally-ill cancer patients might experience distress both as a cancer patient and as a spouse and may need care both as a cancer patient and as a spouse.
Palliative and Supportive Care 07/2005; 3(2):83-6.
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ABSTRACT: Physical abuse is one of the most important public health problems, but little is known about physical abuse of cancer patients. The objects of this study are (1) to identify whether cancer patients have sustained physical abuse; (2) to explore clinical characteristics of the abused patients.
We reviewed 584 cancer patients referred to our psychiatry clinic by a cancer center hospital and investigated whether there were victims of physical abuse among these patients. We also investigated psychiatric characteristics of the abused patients.
Of these 584 patients, three patients were recognized as victims of physical abuse at the time of referral. The perpetrator of physical abuse was their husband (domestic violence) in all three cases. All three patients had sustained physical abuse from their husbands for years before being diagnosed with cancer. In addition to physical abuse, all three patients had sustained emotional abuse (e.g., threat or intimidation) from their husbands. Psychiatric diagnoses of all three patients fulfilled the DSM-IV criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the traumatic event was mainly physical abuse by their husbands.
Oncologists and psychiatrists should pay greater attention to the psychosocial and environmental problems of cancer patients and inquire about the presence of physical abuse in suspected cases. Medical staff should also know that early multidisciplinary interventions in addition to cancer treatments are needed for victims of physical abuse among cancer patients and that these interventions are necessary to improve compliance with treatment and proper decision making.
Palliative and Supportive Care 04/2005; 3(1):39-42.
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ABSTRACT: In this communication, we report an acute leukemia patient who developed conversion disorder mimicking the adverse effects of high-dose cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C) treatment after the patient received high-dose Ara-C treatment. A 21-year-old woman, with acute recurrent leukemia after bone marrow transplantation, received high-dose Ara-C treatment and 10 days later was referred for psychiatric consultation because of an abrupt onset of convulsion. On neurologic examination, she showed convulsion of all the limbs without loss of consciousness. All limbs looked paretic; however, tendon reflexes in all limbs were normal and pathological reflex was not recognized. When her hand was dropped onto her own face, it fell next to her face but not on her face. Laboratory data were unremarkable. She had no history of psychiatric illness or drug or alcohol abuse. The patient explained that she knew about the recurrence of her own leukemia and the news of the death of a close friend due to leukemia at the same time, which was a shocking event for her, focusing her attention on her own fears of dying from the same disease. Conversion disorder in cancer patients is not common; however, appropriate diagnosis is very important to avoid inappropriate examinations and treatments. In leukemia patients receiving chemotherapy, various kinds of signs and symptoms may develop due to the adverse effects of chemotherapy and/or infection. Therefore, conversion disorder might be overlooked and inappropriate treatment and examinations might be performed. Clinicians should consider conversion disorder in the differential diagnosis when patients develop unexplained neurological symptoms.
Palliative and Supportive Care 04/2004; 2(1):79-82.
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ABSTRACT: We report here a terminally ill patient with uterine cervical cancer who developed a brief psychotic disorder after bereavement following the loss of three close friends also suffering from gynecological cancer. A 49-year-old housewife, who was diagnosed as having uterine cervical cancer and was receiving palliative care was referred for psychiatric consultation because of an abrupt onset of delusions, bizarre behavior, disorganized speech, and catatonic behavior. On psychiatric examination, she showed delusional thought and catatonic behavior. Laboratory data were unremarkable, as was brain MRI. She had no history of psychiatric illness or drug or alcohol abuse. After receiving haloperidol, psychiatric symptoms disappeared, and she returned to the previous level of functioning after 3 days. The patient explained that the death of three of her friend due to gynecological cancer was shocking event for her. She focused her attention on her own fears of dying from the same disease. Brief psychotic disorder in cancer patients is rare in the literature. However, our report of brief psychotic disorder associated with bereavement may highlight possible precipitating factors, which have not been adequately emphasized in the literature to date. From a clinical perspective, it would be informative for liaison psychiatrists to inquire about the patient's experience of loss of significant others with the same disease. This may provide useful information helpful to understanding the patient's conception of the disease process. Cancer patients' bereaving friends who had cancer is not rare in clinical settings. Therefore, medical staff should be mindful of interpersonal relationships between patients and bereavement arising from these relationships.
Supportive Care Cancer 08/2003; 11(7):491-3. · 2.60 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We report here a patient who developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after being given a diagnosis of suspected lung cancer. The symptoms of PTSD continued even after it had been confirmed that the lesion was benign after all. A 73-year-old man was referred to our psychiatric outpatient clinic for depressed mood, appetite loss and difficulty in sleeping. On examination the patient explained that he had become preoccupied with intrusive thoughts and memories since his diagnosis of suspected lung cancer and that although he had been told the lesion was not malignant, he had distressing memories of that period and was experiencing severe psychological distress. The patient also explained that he had experienced the death of a close friend through lung cancer and he had a deep fear of developing lung cancer himself. In this patient, the psychological distress evoked by the diagnosis of suspected cancer was severe enough to induce the symptoms of PTSD even though the tumor was benign. From the clinical point of view, it could provide useful information if liaison psychiatrists were to ask patients about any experience of losing significant others to the same disease and this might be helpful in gaining an understanding of the disease process.
Supportive Care Cancer 03/2003; 11(2):123-5. · 2.60 Impact Factor
