Recent onset of abdominal pain in a patient with advanced breast cancer

Abdominal pain is a frequent complaint heard in medical practice. For palli ative care patients, there are numerous causes of abdominal pain. Because o f the non-invasive nature of palliative care practice, emphasis is made on minimal investigations. We present a case of a 49-year old patient who deve loped progressive abdominal pain and was found to have gangrenous appendici tis. The patient underwent surgery and was able to be discharged home. Pur findings suggest that any new pain in a cancer patient must be carefully ev aluated. Because of the presence of opioid analgesics and cortico steroids, symptoms can Be less severe and related to diagnosis in palliative care pa tients. (C) U.S. Cancer Pain Relief Committee, 2000.