ABSTRACT
An 81-year-old woman was brought to hospital by her family after she complained of drowsiness and shortness of breath. Her past medical history included breast cancer with metastases to the brain, liver and bones. She had undergone a mastectomy with lymph node clearance, received 3 cycles of chemotherapy and had undergone several sessions of targeted radiotherapy. At her last oncology appointment, she was advised that further active treatment would not be appropriate and she was referred to the community palliative care team. Her regular medications were: dexamethasone 8mg PO BD, paracetamol 1 g PO QDS, dihydrocodeine 30 mg PO QDS and morphine sulphate immediate release oral solution 5–10 mg up to 4 hourly. She lived with her husband, did not drink alcohol and was an ex-smoker with a 40-pack-year history.
