Palliative Care” – Not Just Simple Words

Some years back, the author was referred a 60 year old lung cancer patient for at-home palliative care. The history was reviewed in detail and the patient was examined. He was of not cachectic, had no pallor or jaundice, no tachypnea, normal lung sounds and an essentially normal examination overall - aside from the fact he was virtually bedridden due to severe fatigue. The patient's reports from the regional cancer hospital confirmed he was stage 4, with bilateral lung metastases noted on a chest CT scan