Social isolation and cancer management - advanced rectal cancer with patient delay following the 2011 triple disaster in Fukushima, Japan: a case report

Journal of Medical Case Reports
Akihiko OzakiHiromichi Ohira

Abstract

Little is known about the effects of social isolation in the elderly on their process of gaining health information and seeking health care. In March 2011, Fukushima, Japan experienced an earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster, also known as Japan's triple disaster. In June 2016, an 80-year-old Japanese man, who lived alone after divorce at the age of 42, presented to our hospital with bloody stools and dizziness. Although his bloody stools initially occurred in May 2015, a year earlier, he did not pursue the possibility of malignancy. He was diagnosed as having stage IIIA rectal cancer. Detailed history taking revealed that he experienced social isolation after the disaster, due to the evacuation of his friends, losing his regular opportunities for socialization. He additionally reported that the current diagnosis of rectal cancer made him feel he had lost his health in addition to his social relationships. Although radical surgery was attempted, it failed to resect the lesion completely, and thereafter his disease gradually progressed. As support from family or friends was not available, he was not able to receive palliative radiation therapy or home-based care in his end-of-life period. He died at a long-term care facilit...Continue Reading

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Citations

Jul 22, 2021·Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness·Izumi YoshidaMasahiro Kami

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